PhD Studentship (Fixed Term) - RNA Stability in Mammalian Development

Applications are invited for a 4-year PhD Studentship in the lab of Dr Claire Senner in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience commencing October 2025.

Project description:

Early mammalian development is underpinned by a series of cell state transitions as multiple lineages form with distinct transcriptional programmes. There is accumulating evidence that post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms play a key role in these developmental transitions. Currently this is an understudied facet of developmental biology, but several publications have reported embryonic lethality with an embryonic or placental phenotype in mice where an RNA binding protein or decay factor has been knocked out. However, detailed phenotyping and in-depth molecular analysis is lacking in most of these examples.

The aim of this PhD project is to use embryonic and trophoblast stem cell lines, as well as in vivo models, to understand changes in RNA stability during normal differentiation events and understand the consequences of disruption of RNA processing or decay pathways. In this way we will be able to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying lineage formation defects and embryonic lethality in this context.

Methods: cell culture, RNA-seq, transcriptomic analysis, CRISPR gene editing, western blotting, histology, immunofluorescence.

Jointly funded by the Royal Society and Wolfson College. The successful applicant will become a member of Wolfson College which offers a lively and welcoming home to a diverse and cosmopolitan community of postgraduate and older (21+) undergraduate students. Wolfson offers all of its PhD students at least two years' housing in reasonably priced student accommodation. First year accommodation is not guaranteed but is usually available to new students who meet all their offer conditions by 31 July (and often thereafter). Detailed information is available https://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/accommodation.

Full details of the University's entrance requirements and scholarships are specified in the following link: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/.

Funding

Full funding covering Maintenance at the Royal Society stipend rate (Yr 1 £20,034) and the University Composition Fee at the Home UK rate (2025-26 £10,356) is provided for the studentship, with effect from 1 October 2025.

The PhD studentship stipend and fees will be reviewed annually. The value of the studentship may be varied by the Royal Society during the lifetime of the studentship.