Investigating how dietary mycoproteins modulate Candida albicans commensalism and pathogenic potential (BUSCAINO_Q26MMBiCASE)
Key Details
- Application deadline
- 8 April 2026 (midnight UK time)
- Funding type
- Competition funded project (Home applicants only)
- Location
- Quadram Institute
- Start date
- 1 October 2026
- Mode of study
- Full-time
- Programme type
- PhD
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Project description
Primary supervisor - Professor Alessia Buscaino
Opportunistic fungal pathogens such as Candida albicans cause serious infections when gut microbial balance is disrupted, particularly following antibiotic treatment. Diet is a powerful but poorly understood regulator of these processes. Mycoproteins, widely used as sustainable meat alternatives, alter gut microbial metabolism, yet their effects on fungal pathogens and infection risk remain largely unknown. This PhD project will investigate how mycoprotein-based diets influence fungal virulence, colonisation, and the transition from commensalism to pathogenicity in the gut, directly addressing mechanisms that underpin susceptibility to fungal infection.
You will be based at the Quadram Institute Bioscience and supervised by Professor Alessia Buscaino (fungal genetics and infection biology) and Dr Fred Warren (gut microbiome and food digestion). The project includes a three-month industrial placement at ENOUGH, which is developing the proprietary mycoprotein ABUNDA. This placement will provide hands-on experience of large-scale mycoprotein production linking fundamental biological research with industrial innovation and pre-market food technology. Using advanced in vitro gut models, fungal genomics, metabolomics, and host–pathogen assays, you will determine how mycoprotein-driven changes in bacterial communities and metabolites regulate fungal growth, virulence gene expression, and host invasion. This will identify dietary and microbial mechanisms that could be exploited to reduce fungal infection risk.
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 the 28 or 29th April 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: 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 MMB PhD iCASE studentship with ENOUGH. The studentship includes payment of tuition fees (directly to the University), a stipend to cover living expenses (2026/7 stipend rate: £21,805), an iCASE programme stipend enhancement of £2500pa and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000pa for each year of the studentship.
References
1. Denning, D. W. Global incidence and mortality of severe fungal disease. Lancet Infect Dis 24, e269 (2024).
2. Iracane, E., Vega-Estevez, S. & Buscaino, A. On and Off: Epigenetic Regulation of C. albicans Morphological Switches. Pathogens 10 (2021).
3. Iracane, E. et al. Identification of an active RNAi pathway in Candida albicans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121, e2315926121 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2315926121
4. Heale, J. D., Pate, A. J. & Dyer, P. S. Fungi as Food. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 446, 19–65 (2025).
5. Colosimo, R. et al. Colonic in vitro fermentation of mycoprotein promotes shifts in gut microbiota, with enrichment of Bacteroides species. Commun Biol 7, 272 (2024).