Position Summary
The project tackles a major insect pest problem affecting global pulse crop production: loss of yield and seed quality inflicted by the bruchid seed beetles of pea and bean.
As a doctoral researcher, you will genetically engineer bean (and possibly later pea) plants to express fragments of essential insect genes in precise tissues that the insect feeds on, with the aim of triggering silencing of essential pest genes through RNA interference, thereby causing mortality as the insects feed on the engineered plants.
You will be based in a large and friendly legume genetics and breeding research team at Reading, but will collaborate with plant bioengineers at nearby Royal Holloway University of London in Egham and with our CASE partner, NPZ UK Ltd, in Cambridge.
The fully‑funded 4‑year studentship pays an enhanced stipend and fees at the UK Home rate. It is part of the UKRI‑funded EngBio4GBP Doctoral Focal Award, through which advanced training in bioengineering and bio‑entrepreneurship is provided.
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