EastBio: Location Location Location: Investigating the Spatiotemporal Control of GPCR Signalling

 Dr Dawn Thompson,  Dr Paolo Annibale

Application Deadline: 16 November 2026

Details

This fully funded, 4-year PhD project is part of a competition funded by the BBSRC EASTBIO Doctoral Training Partnership.

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) regulate almost all physiological processes and attractive targets for the pharmaceutical industry. This project will focus on how regulation of GPCRs can influence and regulate the inflammatory system, and how their dysregulation underlies a number of diseases including cancer and metabolic health. In recent years understanding of the complexity of GPCR signalling has increased exponentially. Rather than being simple on/off switches, GPCRs are tightly regulated to maintain signal fidelity and disruption of these processes, can result in many disease states and the attenuation of therapeutic effectiveness. Importantly, their interaction with regulatory proteins and the movement of the receptor to intracellular compartments can greatly alter the consequence of receptor activation, a phenomenon called spatiotemporal regulation. We will initially investigate how two classes of regulatory proteins (namely GRKs and Arrestins) influence GPCR signalling and trafficking before going on to identify novel and unique regulatory proteins, and how they impact inflammatory processes.

This project presents an exciting and unique PhD opportunity to study this emerging field and delineate the molecular mechanisms controlling GPCR function. Combing the pharmacological and biophysical expertise of the Thompson (University of Aberdeen) and Annibale (St Andrews) labs, this project is ideal for students with an interest in molecular sciences and particularly those in pharmacology and drug discovery. The student will receive state of the art training in in vitro techniques including cell culture and molecular biology and the development of molecular tools and fluorescent and bioluminescent readouts of receptor function utilising both plate readers and a range of high end super-resolution microscopy-based analysis of signalling (e.g. cAMP, calcium, MAP Kinase) and regulation (BRET and FRET based biosensors).

Informal enquiries are encouraged, please contact Dr Dawn Tompson (dthompson@abdn.ac.uk) for further information.

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ELIGIBILITY:

Applicants should hold a minimum of a 2:1 UK Honours degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant subject. Those with a 2:2 UK Honours degree (or international equivalent) may be considered, provided they have (or are expected to achieve) a Distinction or Commendation at master’s level.

We encourage applications from all backgrounds and communities, and are committed to having a diverse, inclusive team.

All students must meet the eligibility criteria as outlined in the UKRI guidance on funding for postgraduate training and development. This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Terms and conditions for training funding – UKRI.

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APPLICATION PROCEDURE

For full details and to download the application form, visit: https://biology.ed.ac.uk/eastbio/how-to-apply

Please note that you may only apply for one EASTBIO project.

1. Application submission

Submit your complete application by 23:59 GMT on 16th November 2026 to smmsn-pgrenquiries@abdn.ac.uk.

Send your application as a single email with the subject line: “EASTBIO Application – [Your Name]”

2. Required documents

Your application email must include the following:

• Completed EASTBIO application form
• Academic certificates and transcripts
• Two references (one reference may be non-academic)

3. References

All references must be provided using the official EASTBIO reference form (available here).

References can be either:

• Included with your application, or
• Sent directly by referees to smmsn-pgrenquiries@abdn.ac.uk with the subject line: “EASTBIO Reference – [Your Name]”

All references must be received by 23:59 GMT on 16th November 2026.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure both references are submitted by the deadline, as we cannot request them on your behalf.

Important notes

• No research proposal is required.
• Do not include any additional documents (for example, school certificates, conference papers, or dissertations).
• Incomplete applications or those including unnecessary materials will not be considered.
• Due to workload constraints, we are unable to follow up on missing documents or process incomplete applications.
• All candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application.
• Please do not query the status of your application. You will be informed of the outcome in due course.
• We will confirm receipt of your applications upon processing. Due to the high volume of applications, this may not be until after the deadline. We ask that you please refrain from contacting us regarding updates or to see if your application has been received.

For any questions or assistance with the application process, please contact smmsn-pgrenquiries@abdn.ac.uk.

Funding Notes

This fully funded, four-year PhD project is offered as part of a competition within the EASTBIO BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership. The opportunity is open to both UK and international applicants, although the proportion of international students recruited through the EASTBIO DTP is capped at 30% by UKRI BBSRC.

EASTBIO studentships provide a tax-free UKRI doctoral stipend (estimated at £22,437 for the 2026/27 academic year), a training grant of £5,000 per year for the first three years (and £1,500 in the fourth year), and a travel and conference allowance of £230 per year.

Please note that EASTBIO is unable to fund visa costs or associated healthcare surcharges for international students.