Targeting thioredoxin reductase to combat antifungal resistance in Candida spp.

About the Project

Antifungal resistance is an urgent and growing global health challenge, with Candida infections becoming increasingly difficult to treat. This exciting PhD project offers the opportunity to investigate a newly identified antifungal compound, LMM6, and uncover how it targets redox‑regulated pathways in Candida species to overcome drug resistance. The project sits at the interface of microbiology, redox biology, chemical genetics, and advanced biophysics, providing a uniquely interdisciplinary training environment.

Working across four collaborating research groups, the student will explore how LMM6 disrupts key oxidative‑stress signalling pathways that underpin antifungal resistance. You will use a combination of fungal genetics, biochemical assays, molecular microbiology, and live‑cell imaging to characterise how this compound inhibits the thioredoxin reductase (Trr1) pathway. Alongside these mechanistic studies, you will perform unbiased chemical‑genetic screens using Candida mutant libraries to identify genes that influence LMM6 sensitivity. These findings will support the development of predictive models for antifungal resistance and guide potential drug‑combination strategies. You will also have the opportunity to train in state‑of‑the‑art microfluidics and super‑resolution microscopy techniques. These platforms will allow you to monitor real‑time cellular responses to antifungal treatment, measure morphological and biophysical changes, and identify the earliest events associated with resistance emergence.

You will join a vibrant, supportive, and collaborative research community with expertise spanning fungal pathogenesis, systems biology, redox signalling, chemical genomics, and biophysical imaging. The project will also involve interaction with international collaborators, including groups who originally identified LMM6, providing exposure to translational research pipelines and opportunities to understand how novel antifungal agents progress toward therapeutic development.

This PhD is ideal for applicants who are enthusiastic about infection biology, antimicrobial resistance, molecular genetics, or interdisciplinary bioscience research. You will gain a comprehensive and highly transferable skill set, including advanced laboratory techniques, high‑content data analysis, computational skills, and experience working with cutting‑edge imaging technologies.

By the end of the project, you will be well‑positioned for careers in academia, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, or translational research. Most importantly, you will contribute to the development of urgently needed solutions addressing antifungal resistance which is a critical global health priority.

Funding

Students who have, or are expecting to attain, at least an upper second-class honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject, are invited to apply. Funding is available for Home (UK) students to cover tuition fees, a tax-free stipend at the UKRI rate (indicative amount in year 1 in 2026-27, £21,805) and research costs, for four years. Applicants normally required to cover International fees will have to cover the difference between the Home and the International tuition fee rates. There is no additional funding available to cover NHS Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) costs, visa costs, flights etc.

Funding for this studentship is awarded on a competitive basis and is not guaranteed; availability will depend on the outcome of the selection process and subject to final approval by the University.