Postgraduate research
Chemistry Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) PhD
Qualification: PhD
Department: School of Chemistry
Application deadline: 30 April 2025
Start date: 22 September 2025
Overview
The School of Chemistry is offering 1 x 4-year fully-funded Graduate Teaching Assistant PhD Studentship starting in September 2025 open to UK applicants only.
The Graduate Teaching Assistantship is available for full-time registration and payable as a full UK tuition fee waiver for four years subject to annual progress review. The successful applicant will also receive a combined annual stipend and salary package (£19,237 pa for 2024/5 Stipend for 2025/6 to be confirmed).
About Graduate Teaching Assistantships
This is a Graduate Training Assistantship (GTA), which means that you will be required to do some teaching, particularly lab demonstrating, as part of your training. GTAs allow research students to fund their PhD through part-time teaching work with the University.
Approximately 80% of your time will be spent on doctoral research leading to a PhD and 20% on GTA responsibilities. Training is provided to help Graduate Teaching Assistants develop their teaching related skills and enhance their professional competencies.
Supervisor: Dr Philip Ash Philip.ash@leicester.ac.uk
Project highlights
- Understand natural chemical energy conversion through study of small molecule activation chemistry.
- Work at large-scale national and international research facilities.
- Gain a broad range of interdisciplinary skills that will open a wide range of future career paths.
Project description
Redox properties of metal-containing active sites are critically important to many biocatalytic processes: one third of all proteins contain a redox-active metal, and ca 22% of submissions to the Protein Data Bank contain a transition metal. Metalloproteins capable of extracting energy from H2 gas, sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere, or performing complex monooxygenation reactions, rely upon the ability to access and control a range of often exotic metal oxidation states in an aqueous environment. Much of this crucial chemistry occurs at extremely fast rates, making it challenging to study using conventional structural and spectroscopic methods.
This project aims to investigate the catalytic mechanisms and structural dynamics of metalloenzymes that are vital for chemical energy conversion, with a focus on hydrogenase. State-of-the-art spectroscopic and structural studies will be combined with computational analysis to reveal critical but elusive transient intermediates by studying reactions in real time on sub-microsecond timescales. The outcomes of this project will provide a step change in our understanding of the mechanism of hydrogenase and other metalloenzymes, and will serve as inspirational catalysts for future green energy technologies A PhD student will gain a broad range of interdisciplinary skills in spectroscopy, electrochemistry, chemical biology, structural biology, and biophysics whilst addressing critical questions about how nature achieves efficient chemical energy conversion. Together with the multidisciplinary research environment at the University of Leicester, this project provides an ideal means to gain crucial lab-based and interpersonal skills, as well as opportunities to undertake research at national and international research facilities.
Techniques that will be undertaken during the project:
- Computational modelling
- Molecular Biology (cloning & mutagenesis)
- Protein expression and purification
- X-ray Spectroscopy
- Time-resolved spectroscopy (infrared, Raman)
- Synchrotron science
- Chemical synthesis
- Enzyme kinetics
- Protein crystallisation
- Structure determination
To apply follow the application advice under the How to Apply section below and use the application link at the bottom of the page
Funding
Funding
GTA Studentships provide funding for 4 years to include:
- Tuition fees at UK rates
- A combined teaching and stipend payment ( currently £19,237 for 2024/5. The Teaching/Stipend rates for 2025/6 to be confirmed)
International students will need to demonstrate they are able pay the difference between UK and overseas fees. For 2025/6 entry this will be £18,644 per year of study.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
Applicants are required to hold/or expect to obtain a UK Bachelor degree 2:1/1st, or overseas equivalent, in a Chemistry-related subject.
The University of Leicester English language requirements apply
Informal enquiries
Informal enquiries
Please email enquiries to csepgr@le.ac.uk (include Chemistry GTA in the subject line)
Project enquiries please email the relevant supervisor Dr Philip Ash Philip.ash@leicester.ac.uk
How to apply
How to apply
To apply, please select the 'Apply' button below and then select September 2025.
With your application, please include:
- CV
- Personal statement explaining, briefly, your interest in the project and your experience.
- Degree Certificates and Transcripts of study already completed and if possible transcript to date of study currently being undertaken
- Evidence of English language proficiency, if applicable.
- In the reference section please enter the contact details of your two academic referees in the boxes provided or upload letters of reference if already available. Project supervisors cannot act as referees.
- In the funding section please specify Chemistry GTA studentship.
- In the proposal section please provide the name of the project supervisor and the project title (a research proposal is not required).
Eligibility
Eligibility
The studentships are available to UK and overseas* applicants.
*International students will need to demonstrate they are able pay the difference between UK and overseas fees. For 2025/6 entry this will be £18,864 per year of study.
If you hold EU settled or pre-settled status you may be eligible for UK fees. Once you have applied for the PhD, please email pgradmissions@le.ac.uk a share code so that we can verify your status (Share code we need starts with S). Include your application number.
