Tuition Fee Waiver at the home rate of £5238 for a one year Masters by Research
30th June, 2026 at 23:59 BST
This scholarship is available only to those assessed as home fee paying students and are due start in September 2026. The successful candidate should have (or expect to have) an Honours Degree (or equivalent) with a minimum of 2.2 in a Biological Science related subject.
Project Details :
Supervisor - Dr James Budge
Title- Smart Gene Switches: Engineering Stimuli Responsive Genetic Circuits for Real-Time Cellular Sensing
Cells constantly monitor their environment and respond to stress, damage, and external signals by turning genes on or off at precisely the right time. This project explores how we can harness and redesign these natural ‘decision making’ systems using stimuli responsive promoters to create programmable genetic circuits with real world applications.
In this Master’s project, you will identify and engineer DNA and RNA based genetic switches that activate gene expression only in response to specific cellular stimuli such as oxidative stress, nutrient deprivation and cellular pH. By assembling a modular library of regulatory elements, you will design synthetic circuits that behave predictably inside mammalian cells.
These engineered systems have powerful practical benefits. Stimuli-responsive genetic circuits enable the development of biosensors that report cellular stress in real time, offering valuable tools for drug screening, disease modelling, biotechnology and basic research. In a therapeutic context, they allow precise, condition dependent gene expression, with the potential to reduce off-target effects and improved safety profiles of gene and cell based therapies. Such “smart” genetic control systems could add tools to next-generation biotherapeutics, including targeted DNA and RNA mediated therapies.
The project provides hands-on training in highly sought after techniques, including mammalian cell culture, molecular cloning, fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and cell sorting. Students will gain experience at the interface of synthetic biology, biotechnology, and translational medicine; ideal preparation for careers in academia, biotech or the pharmaceutical industry.
If you wish to be considered for this scholarships must apply for a full-time place on MSc Biochemistry for September 2026 entry at the University of Kent by 30th June, 2026. Interviews will be conducted in July 2026.
Please refer to this project and supervisor under the Reasons for Study section of your application and detail your suitability for the project.