Girton College Rosalie Crawford & Plant Sciences PhD Studentship

Girton College has partnered with the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge to fund a PhD studentship. This studentship provides comprehensive support including fees at the 'Home' rate, maintenance allowance, and research consumables of £2,000 per year. Priority will be given to students applying to work with Professor Nik Cunniffe on a project focused on the UK Plant Health Risk Register (UK-PHRR), which is central to UK plant biosecurity. The project, co-funded by and done in collaboration with DEFRA, will consider ways in which the performance of the UK-PHRR can be tested and how mathematical modelling can be used to improve its future performance. The UK-PHRR collates information on over 1,400 pests or pathogens posing risks to UK crops, trees, gardens or ecosystems, and ranks these risks to provide an evidence-based framework for prioritising government actions. All other things being equal, preference will be given to students who list Girton as their first-choice college, though applicants are not required to specify this college on their admissions application but must be willing to transfer.