"PhD Studentship in transdiagnostic blood biomarkers and immune mechanisms in psychosis: integrating genetic and multiomic approaches"

4-year Fieldrose Charitable Trust PhD Scholarship: Transdiagnostic blood biomarkers and immune mechanisms in psychosis: integrating genetic and multiomic approaches

We are seeking a candidate for a fully-funded 4-year PhD studentship in the functional genomics of psychosis at the University of Cambridge. You will be supervised by Dr Mary-Ellen Lynall, Prof Graham Murray and Prof Naomi Wray, working within the BioMind and CPPDS Labs at the University of Cambridge, with opportunities for secondment to the Wray lab at the Big Data Institute, University of Oxford.

The supervisory team already work closely together and co-supervise students and postdocs within the UKRI-funded ImmunoMind Hub. You will join a group of exceptional early career researchers driven to discover mechanisms, biomarkers and new treatment targets for psychiatric disorders.

You would gain experience in statistical genetics, functional genomics, immunology, neuroscience, clinical phenotype analysis, and how to effectively involve people with lived experience in research. This is a computational PhD project. The student will benefit from the network and training opportunities afforded by the SMARTbiomed network (lead: Wray) and the international Psychiatry Genomics Consortium Functional Genomics group (co-chair Lynall). We welcome candidates from computational and statistical backgrounds as well as candidates with biomedical backgrounds who enjoy quantitative analysis. The project would be further shaped by the successful candidate: we present the broad outline below.

This student will be supported by a Fieldrose Charitable Trust PhD Scholarship thanks to generous funding from Mental Health Research UK and Schizophrenia Research Fund.

Project outline

Psychosis affects people in different ways - some recover fully, while others may live with long-term difficulties. We still don't fully understand the biological causes of psychosis, so at the moment, treatments for psychosis are not personalized based on an individual's biology e.g. measures from blood tests. Research suggests that the immune system, including immune responses to stress or infection, might play an important role in some people with psychosis, and that people with psychosis may share some biological traits with people who have autoimmune diseases, or people who experience infections. Our previous work has shown that certain immune cells could be involved in causing psychosis across different diagnoses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. But until now, researchers haven't had enough detailed biological data to figure out which patients are affected in this way. This PhD project will explore how the immune system contributes to psychosis by combining genetic information, blood tests, and clinical data from patients. The project will draw on existing datasets as well as new data from the UK-wide Early Intervention Mission (lead: Murray), focused on early psychosis. The goal is to identify groups of patients with specific immune patterns that relate to particular outcomes or risk factors, which could help develop more targeted and effective treatments or predictive biomarkers in the future.

Essential Criteria

• An honours degree in a biological, statistical or other computational subject with a 1st class or high 2:1 (or equivalent)
• Research experience
• Interest in quantitative analysis of biomedical data
• Interest in immunobiology and genomics
• Enthusiasm to work with people with lived experience of psychosis
• Eligibility for home fees or additional funding to meet the difference with overseas fees
• Ability to attend an in-person interview in Cambridge

Desirable Criteria

• Relevant research assistant experience or a masters degree in a relevant subject
• Evidence of academic excellence e.g. first class undergraduate degree or distinction in masters degree
• Prior publications (including preprinted publications)
• Experience in coding or quantitative statistical methods

The studentship covers:

• University tuition fees (at the Home rate). Students who are not eligible for 'Home' fee status will need extra funding to cover the difference with Overseas fees. What is my fee status?
• A tax-free stipend paid at UKRI rates (£21,383 per annum for 4 years) (a 3% uplift in stipend is expected annually)

How to Apply

All applications should be made online via the University's Applicant Portal for a PhD in Psychiatry - applicants can apply for either Michaelmas 2026 intake (start date October 2026) or Lent 2027 intake (start date January 2027).

Applying for postgraduate courses at Cambridge

Applications should include academic transcripts, CV, a statement of purpose, a research proposal and 2 references. The statement of purpose must indicate how the applicant meets the essential criteria and any desirable criteria. Please also explain your motivation why you wish to pursue a PhD in this area, outline your research interests and background, and describe the qualities and experience you will bring to the role within the application. The research statement should simply be single page document containing the title of the PhD studentship (no further text required). An application is only complete when all supporting documents, including the 2 academic references, are submitted. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure their referees submit their references before the closing date.

Further information about the course can be found here.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Mary-Ellen Lynall (mel41@cam.ac.uk)

Closing Date: January 2nd 2026

Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be in person only, in Cambridge on January 19th 2026 (within-UK travel expenses will be reimbursed).

The University actively supports equality, diversity, and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

Please quote reference RN48192 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

Key information

• Department/location: Department of Psychiatry
• Reference: RN48192
• Category: Studentships
• Date published: 8 December 2025
• Closing date: 2 January 2026