| Qualifications |
Duration |
Start dates |
Application period |
PhD
(MPhil also available) |
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years |
February and October |
January to April |
Qualifications
PhD (MPhil also available) |
Duration
Full time: 3–4 years
Part time: 6–8 years |
Start dates
February and October |
Application period
January to April |
Working closely with members of the Astrobiology快猫视频 research area, we use a variety of experimental techniques, including molecular biology, mineralogy and geochemistry, and orbital flight experiments, to understand the way in which microorganisms persist in extreme environments and how this could be applied to environments elsewhere. This includes investigating how microorganisms interact with the lithosphere to gain energy and nutrients, whether they leave behind biosignatures that could be used for life detection, and survivability of such biosignatures after impact shock events.
Projects also use theoretical and simulation methods to quantify the conditions on other planetary bodies and their potential to support life, past and present. Our work is fundamental for the understanding of the environmental conditions in other planetary environments that can inform future life detection missions, and crucial for understanding the data (or samples) returned by such missions.
Entry requirements
Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your .
Potential research projects
- Study of microbe-mineral interactions in extreme environments
- Investigations of biosignatures created by life
- Theoretical and laboratory study of habitable conditions on other planetary surfaces
- Assessments of specific Martian environments through modelling
- Detection of organic molecules in extraterrestrial samples
- Detecting potential biosignatures in cryovolcanic plumes at Enceladus and other ocean worlds
Current/recent research projects
- Searching for biogenic trace gases on Mars using laboratory experiments and the ExoMars NOMAD instrument
- Biogeochemical cycling in the sub-surface oceans of Enceladus and Europa
- Carbon cycling in the sub-surface ocean of Enceladus
- Novel luminescent sensors for detecting organic compounds in extraterrestrial samples
- Biogeochemistry in the deep sub-surface environment: a key for finding potential life on Mars
- Impact and heat processing of Mars’s moon Phobos
- Biosignature modification in the Oxia Planum region of Mars
Projects involve laboratory planetary simulation facilities including UV and near vacuum, and hypervelocity impact as well as molecular, aerobic and anaerobic microbiology laboratory facilities. Projects apply a range of geochemical and microbiological analytical techniques.
Potential supervisors
- – Professor of Planetary Sciences
- – Senior Lecturer in Ecology, School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems Sciences
- – Senior Lecturer
- – Senior Lecturer
- – Lecturer in Earth Science, School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems Sciences
Fees and funding
| UK fee |
International fee |
| Full-time: 拢4,786 per year |
Full-time: 拢15,698 per year |
| Part-time: 拢2,393 per year |
Part-time: 拢7,849 per year |
Our research students are funded via many sources, including: industry, Doctoral Training Partnerships, the EU, self-funding, and faculty funded studentships.
For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.
To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see .
Links