Discovery of disease modulating peptides from the human microbiome (TRUMAN_J26MMB)
Key Details
- Application deadline
- 6 January 2026 (midnight UK time)
- Location
- John Innes Centre
- Funding type
- Competition Funded (Home and International)
- Start date
- 1 October 2026
- Mode of study
- Full-time
- Programme type
- PhD
)
Welcome to Norwich
According to the Sunday Times, this city is one of the best places to live in the UK.
Project description
Primary supervisor - Dr Andrew Truman
We are looking for a motivated student to work on an interdisciplinary project that spans bioinformatics, microbiology and chemistry. In this 4-year PhD project, the candidate will explore and characterize bioactive metabolites produced by bacteria associated with patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC).
Human-associated microbes produce metabolites that can have key effects on the human host, either beneficially, such as antibacterial compounds, or negatively, such as toxins. Computational analysis of genomic data highlights a vast number of pathways to such molecules, yet little is known about the structure or function of most of these complex metabolites. The PhD student will analyse large metagenomic datasets from bacteria associated with patients to discover new metabolites. These molecules will be characterized chemically and biologically, with the aim of understanding how these molecules impact human health.
This multidisciplinary project will be based in the laboratory of Dr Andrew Truman in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at the John Innes Centre, which has world-class facilities for bacterial genetics and biosynthesis. Further expertise is provided by secondary supervisor Dr Falk Hildebrand (Quadram Institute), who is an expert in bacterial metagenomics associated with diseases such as IBD and has developed multiple tools for understanding complex metagenomic datasets. This project provides an exciting opportunity to discover new bioactive molecules and develop skills across informatics, biology and chemistry. Applications are welcomed from students who are excited to work on a multidisciplinary project across the biological and chemical sciences.
The Microbes, Microbiomes and Bioinformatics (MMB) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) is open to UK and international candidates with relevant undergraduate degrees for entry in October 2026 and offers the opportunity to undertake a fully-funded 4-year PhD research project supported by the UKRI Medical Research Council in microbiology and microbial bioinformatics.
Our unique and comprehensive training programme empowers students to feel comfortable running sophisticated computer analyses alongside laboratory work and emphasises problem-based learning in microbial bioinformatics, professional development and research skills. All MMB DTP students undertake a Professional Placement.
Interviews for shortlisted candidates will take place on Tuesday 10 February 2026.
The MMB DTP is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. Students are selected without regard to age, disability, gender identity, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation or social background. We value curiosity, independence of thought, plus an aptitude for research that combines laboratory work and bioinformatics.
For information on eligibility and how to apply: http://www.uea.ac.uk/phd/mmbdtp
Entry requirements
At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (MED/SCI equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category).
Funding
This project is awarded with a 4-year fully-funded studentship including direct payment of tuition fees to the University, stipend for living expenses (2025/26 rate: £20,780) and a Research Training Support Grant for each year of the studentship.
References
Bedarf, J. R., Romano, S., Heinzmann, S. S., Duncan, A., Traka, M. H., Ng, D., Segovia-Lizano, D., Simon, M.-C., Narbad, A., Wüllner, U. & Hildebrand, F. A prebiotic dietary pilot intervention restores faecal metabolites and may be neuroprotective in Parkinson’s Disease. npj Park.’s Dis. 11, 66 (2025).
Frioux, C., Ansorge, R., Özkurt, E., Nedjad, C. G., Fritscher, J., Quince, C., Waszak, S. M. & Hildebrand, F. Enterosignatures define common bacterial guilds in the human gut microbiome. Cell Host Microbe 31, 1111-1125.e6 (2023).
Ford, J. J., Santos-Aberturas, J., Hems, E. S., Sallmen, J. W., Bögeholz, L. A. K., Polturak, G., Osbourn, A., Wright, J. A., Rodnina, M. V., Vereecke, D., Francis, I. M. & Truman, A. W. Identification of the lydiamycin biosynthetic gene cluster in a plant pathogen guides structural revision and identification of molecular target. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 122, e2424388122 (2025).
Pei, Z.-F., Vior, N. M., Zhu, L., Truman, A. W., Nair, S. K. Biosynthesis of peptide–nucleobase hybrids in ribosomal peptides. Nat. Chem. Biol. (2025). doi:10.1038/s41589-024-01736-9
Pacheco-Moreno, A., Stefanato, F. L., Ford, J. J., Trippel, C., Uszkoreit, S., Ferrafiat, L., Grenga, L., Dickens, R., Kelly, N., Kingdon, A. D., Ambrosetti, L., Nepogodiev, S. A., Findlay, K. C., Cheema, J., Trick, M., Chandra, G., Tomalin, G., Malone, J. G., Truman, A. W. Pan-genome analysis identifies intersecting roles for Pseudomonas specialized metabolites in potato pathogen inhibition. eLife 10, e71900 (2021).