MSc by Research in Biology - Sensing temperature over time (Plant Chronobiology Hub)

About the Project

Primary Supervisor: Dr Daphne Ezer

Co-Supervisors: Prof Seth Davis and Dr James Ronald

Climate change is dramatically affecting global seasonal temperature patterns. Plants vary their sensitivity to temperatures as they develop. It is critical to understand the relationship between temperature sensing and development, because this will govern how farmers will need to adjust sowing and harvest schedules in response to climate change. You will trial a novel experimental design (which we dub "shufflomics") for investigating the relationship between development and temperature-sensing over time, using multi-omics approaches. You will have the chance to learn advance R and Python skills to analyse this data with machine learning/AI techniques, but we do not expect prior experience in these skills.

This project is part of the University of York's new Plant Chronobiology Hub that investigates how plants sense and respond to environmental signals over time. This hub brings together experts in computational biology, microscopy, molecular genetics/genomics, and plant physiology. We are seeking a cohort of MSc by Research students who each have their own projects, but also collaborate with one another to develop interdisciplinary perspectives and expand their skill sets.

You will:

• Learn diverse experimental and computational skills in plant chronobiology
• Develop a novel multi-omics experimental technique called shufflomics (chapter 1)
• Develop data analysis techniques to investigate how temperature sensitivity varies over development (chapter 2)
• Collaborate across the MSc cohort to hopefully contribute to multiple research outputs.

The Department of Biology holds an Athena SWAN Gold Award. We are committed to supporting equality and diversity and strive to provide a positive working environment for all staff and students.

Entry Requirements: Students with, or expecting to gain, at least an upper second class honours degree, or equivalent, are invited to apply.

Programme: MSc by Research in Biology (1 year)

Start Date: 21 September 2026