Project description

Primary supervisor - Dr Michael Stephenson

Are you fascinated by how plants build complex, bioactive molecules? Join our team, at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the John Innes Centre (JIC) in Norwich, to solve a long-standing biochemical puzzle; the origins of sesquiterpene coumarins, a rare and medicinally valuable class of plant natural products.

In this project, you will explore a bold new hypothesis: that these compounds are cyclised not by conventional sesquiterpene synthases, but by enzymes related to oxidosqualene cyclases from triterpene biosynthesis (a major and famous family of natural products found all over the plant kingdom).

You’ll combine organic chemistry, molecular and synthetic biology, and bioinformatics to identify and characterise these elusive enzymes, tracing their evolutionary origins and unlocking their potential for sustainable production of high-value compounds, for the treatment of diseases such as cancer.

The project will harness a cutting-edge plant-based heterologous expression platform to facilitate the enzyme engineering and compound production.

Why should you apply?

This project offers a unique opportunity to work at the interface between synthetic biology and medicinal organic chemistry. You will develop skills in a wide range of scientific methods spanning both fields, including bioinformatics, computational chemistry, microbiology workflows (cloning and mutagenesis), heterologous expression, analytical chemistry, natural product extraction, and structural elucidation by spectroscopic techniques. Your work will make a real impact in unlocking the medicinal power of this new chemical space.

The Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme (NRPDTP) is offering fully funded studentships for October 2026 entry. The programme offers postgraduates the opportunity to undertake a 4-year PhD research project whilst enhancing professional development and research skills through a comprehensive training programme. You will join a vibrant community of world-leading researchers. All NRPDTP students undertake a three-month professional internship placement (PIPS) during their study. The placement offers exciting and invaluable work experience designed to enhance professional development. Full support and advice will be provided by our Professional Internship team.

This project has been shortlisted for funding by the NRPDTP. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed on 3,4 or 5 February 2026.

Visit our website for further information on eligibility and how to apply: https://biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/.

Our partners value diverse and inclusive work environments that are positive and supportive. Students are selected for admission without regard to gender, marital or civil partnership status, disability, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or social background.

To maximise accessibility and attract students from underrepresented groups to our programme we have introduced bespoke templates for applicant Personal and Research statements which will enable every applicant to fully represent themselves through providing suitable examples and evidence. These forms are on the NRPDTP website and must be used for these sections of the application form.

Entry requirements

At least UK equivalence Bachelors (Honours) 2:1. English Language requirement (Faculty of Science equivalent: IELTS 6.5 overall, 6 in each category).

Funding

This project is awarded with a 4-year Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership PhD DTP studentship. The studentship includes payment of tuition fees (directly to the University), a stipend to cover living expenses (2025/6 stipend rate: £20,780), and a Research Training Support Grant of £5,000pa for each year of the studentship.

References

Stephenson, M. J., Field, R. A., & Osbourn, A. The protosteryl and dammarenyl cation dichotomy in polycyclic triterpene biosynthesis revisited: Has this 'rule' finally been broken? Natural Product Reports, 36, 1044-1052 (2019).

Stephenson, M. J., & Brodelius, P. E. Prediction of the reaction mechanisms of sesquiterpene coumarin synthases supports a direct evolutionary link with triterpene biosynthesis. Phytochemistry Reviews, Article 106102 (2025).

Stephenson, M. J., Reed, J., Brouwer, B., & Osbourn, A. Transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves for triterpene production at a preparative scale. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 138, Article e58169 (2018).

Reed, J., Stephenson, M. J., Miettinen, K., Brouwer, B., Leveau, A., Brett, P., Goss, R. J. M., Goossens, A., O'Connell, M. A., & Osbourn, A. A translational synthetic biology platform for rapid access to gram-scale quantities of novel drug-like molecules. Metabolic Engineering, 42, 185–193 (2017). 7)

Pena, R. D. L., Hodgson, H., Liu, C.-T., Stephenson, M. J., Martin, A. C., Owen, C., Harkess, A., Leebens-Mack, J., Jimenez, L., Osbourn, A., & Sattely, E. Complex scaffold remodeling in plant triterpene biosynthesis. Science, 379(6630), 361-368 (2023).

Making drug out of sunlight and ‘thin air’ (STEPHENSON_U26DTP)

Project description

Entry requirements

Funding

References