PhD Studentship: A Single-Cell Atlas of the Euglena Gracilis Cell Cycle

This 4-year PhD studentship investigates the gene expression choreography of Euglena gracilis, a single-celled protist with unusual metabolic and genetic properties. Based at the Earlham Institute through the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership, the project combines wet-lab culturing and imaging with computational single-cell RNA-sequencing workflows. The successful candidate will map thousands of individual cells to reconstruct cell cycle dynamics and evaluate how environmental factors like light and temperature affect them. Applicants should be curious, quantitative graduates ready to work at the intersection of experimental biology and computational analysis.

• Culture and image Euglena gracilis cells under varying environmental conditions.
• Develop and execute single-cell RNA-sequencing workflows for protist samples.
• Reconstruct the cell cycle computationally using high-throughput sequencing data.
• Formulate and test hypotheses regarding gene regulation and pathway activation.
• Collaborate with researchers at the Earlham Institute and participate in doctoral training activities.