Opportunities

Masters Projects

Projects for Master’s students at the Silwood Park Campus of Imperial College London’s Department of Life Sciences (ICL DoLS) and the Natural History Museum, are advertised on the ‘Silwood and NHM Masters Project proposals’ webpage. If there are not any available projects from me or you have a specific idea that falls within my interests but is not listed, please feel free to contact me and discuss your idea. Im happy to try and customise projects wherever possible.

PhD studentships

Usually, PhD studentships will be advertised on www.findaphd.com. If you are interested in carrying out a PhD studentship that is advertised, please follow the instructions on the advert but also feel free to contact me to discuss the project informally. If there are no current opportunities but you are interested in undertaking a PhD with me, please email me (p.graystock@imperial.ac.uk) with a copy of your CV and a brief summary of your research interests, and we can discuss potential opportunities.

In addition to advertised projects, prospective students may be able to apply for a number of fully funded PhD scholarship schemes at Imperial College London. Prospective applicants interested in microbial ecology, pollinator health, host-microbiome interactions, disease ecology, genomics, or related areas are encouraged to get in touch to discuss potential PhD projects and suitable funding opportunities.

In particular, outstanding candidates from the UK and overseas are encouraged to consider the President’s PhD Scholarships, one of Imperial’s flagship doctoral funding programmes. These highly competitive awards provide full tuition fees, a generous stipend, and research support, enabling students to pursue independent PhD research https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/postgraduate-doctoral/grants-scholarships/presidents-phd/.

Chinese students may also be eligible for the Imperial College London and China Scholarship Council (CSC) PhD Scholarship Programme. This scheme supports outstanding Chinese nationals undertaking doctoral research at Imperial and provides funding for tuition fees and living costs. Students interested in this route should contact me to discuss their ideas and how the lab could support that before they submit their PhD application through Imperial and before completing the CSC scholarship process https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/postgraduate-taught/grants-scholarships/international-scholarship-collaborations/csc/

Postdoctoral research fellowships

I welcome enquiries from researchers interested in developing independent fellowship applications in areas aligned with my group’s research, including pollinator health, disease ecology, microbial ecology, microbiomes, host-microbe interactions, genomics, and ecosystem health. I am happy to discuss project ideas, build collaborations, act as a host sponsor, and provide support in developing competitive fellowship proposals.

My research group combines expertise in experimental ecology, microbiology, molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics, and the analysis of large-scale omics datasets. We have a strong track record of securing external research funding and provide an excellent environment for developing ambitious and interdisciplinary research programmes. Prospective fellows can benefit from access to a wide range of facilities and resources, including category 2 microbiology laboratories, genomics and sequencing facilities, large greenhouse and controlled-environment experimental spaces, a research apiary, 110 hectares of field research land, international pollinator monitoring networks, long-term ecological datasets, and extensive bee genomic, microbiome, and disease datasets.

A number of UK and international fellowship schemes may be suitable for researchers interested in joining the group, including opportunities from the Wellcome Trust, BBSRC, NERC, Leverhulme Trust, and Royal Society. Imperial College London also runs the highly competitive Imperial College Research Fellowship (ICRF) scheme, which provides four years of support for outstanding early-career researchers pursuing an independent research programme. Applicants should demonstrate an excellent research track record relative to career stage and clear potential for research leadership. I am happy to discuss potential applications and provide advice on developing competitive fellowship proposals.

In the UK, there are a number of fellowship opportunities that fall within my research area. These include external fellowships calls from: The Welcome Trust; BBSRC; Royal Society; Leverhulme; NERC. There is also an internal fellowship call for our 4-year Imperial College Research Fellowships (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/research-office/funder-information/research-fellowships/irf/). Those interested will need to demonstrate an excellent track record in relation to their career stage and have the potential to submit competitive fellowship applications. I can help advise on this.