Self-Funded PhD opportunity in Chemistry (Ref: SCI26-SF-005)

About the Project

The Department of Chemistry has three core research themes, supported by major external funders (including UKRI, EU, Welcome Trust, Leverhulme Trust, Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, Alzheimer’s Research UK and MoD), strong industrial engagement (for example, Plastic Energy, Foster & Freeman, Owlstone Medical, Lubrizol, Reckitt) and high-quality outputs such as spinout companies R3V Tech and Figura Analytics, patents and policy briefings on alternative technologies to animals in life sciences research as well as high quality publications.

All themes are underpinned by the Laboratory-to-Fabrication (Lab2Fab) and the Centre for Analytical Science.

Chemistry for Health (Contact: Paul Roach - P.Roach@lboro.ac.uk)

Research focuses on sustainable routes to next-generation pharmaceuticals and biologics, advancing health and wellbeing through:

• chemical synthesis
• biomaterials
• drug discovery and medicinal chemistry
• disease modelling
• biosensing, imaging and metabolomics

Energy and Sustainability (Contact: Simon Kondrat - S.Kondrat@lboro.ac.uk)

A major strength of the department, addressing global energy challenges, including:

• green hydrogen and ammonia, fuel cells
• CO₂ capture and utilisation
• battery materials and photovoltaics
• nuclear reactor materials and waste immobilisation

This work is supported by the EnerHy CDT, and the Centre for Circular Chemical Economy.

Digital Chemistry (Contact: Steve Christie - S.D.Christie@lboro.ac.uk)

Digital Chemistry underpins all research themes, integrating:

• data generation and analysis
• multiscale modelling
• device fabrication

These capabilities accelerate discovery and innovation, with particular emphasis on AI-enabled solutions, optical sensing and imaging addressing industry relevant challenges.

Tuition fees for 2026-27 entry

• UK fee - £5,238 Full-time degree per annum
• International fee - £29,500 Full-time degree per annum

Fees for the 2026-27 academic year apply to projects starting in October 2026, February 2027 and July 2027.

UK tuition fees for 2026/27 are currently to be confirmed pending the release of the UKRI recommended rates. Once published, these rates will be subject to formal approval by the University before being confirmed.

Opportunity Details

• Target Start Date: October 2026
• Full time or part time available.
• Open to UK and international applicants.

How to Apply

We welcome discussions with interested candidates.

• Step 1: Interested applicants should first contact Dr Pooja Goddard (P.Goddard@lboro.ac.uk) the Department's Deputy Director of Doctoral Programmes to discuss your research interests and funding options.
• Step 2: Applicants are then strongly encouraged to contact potential supervisors with a CV, academic transcripts, and confirmation of funding sources or planned funding sources.
• Step 3: following any informal discussion, applicants are invited to make a formal application on the Loughborough Website.