Applications are now open.
The Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe and the University of Cambridge are committed to widening participation in postgraduate students at the University of Cambridge.
Research within the Centre aims to develop a deeper understanding of life, its emergence, and its distribution in the Universe by addressing four questions:
- What are the chemical pathways which led to the origins of life that are compatible with benign conditions for life in different planetary environments?
- How do we characterise the environments on Earth and other planets that could act as the cradle of prebiotic chemistry and life?
- What observational facilities and methods will allow investigation of bodies beyond the Solar System, the remote sensing of their atmospheres and the search for signatures of geological and biological evolution?
- How can philosophical and mathematical concepts refine our understanding of what we mean by life, leading to new interdisciplinary collaborations and modes of scientific enquiry?
We have a fully funded PhD studentships available for home (UK) students starting October 2025. This studentship will cover fees and stipend for home students at the UKRI + LCLU uplift of £2,000 per year for 4 years and research cost support will be provided.
These studentships are for students who fulfil one or more of the following criteria:
- are Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME)
- are in the first generation of their family to go to university
- who have been in care or who have been a young carer
- are from a low-income background
How to apply
To apply for a LCLU PhD Studentship, please apply through the University of Cambridge postgraduate admissions portal: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/ and note in "the applying for funding" section that you are eligible for LCLU funding. The materials required for your application will depend on the department of the primary PhD supervisor with details available here: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying/how-do-i-apply.
The deadlines for applications vary with the department, so please check what the relevant deadline is with the relevant PhD Supervisor. All applications will have to be in by 7thJanuary 2025.
Timeline
| PhD applications open | 27 September 2024 |
| Applications shut | 7 January 2025 |
| Interviews with supervisors | 20-31 January 2025 |
| Interviews with LCLU | 10-14 February 2025 |
| LCLU makes offers – students apply through University of Cambridge graduate application scheme with letter of funding | 24 February 2025 |
| Deadline to accept PhD place | 13 March 2025 |
Research Proposals
The list of projects is not exhaustive, and applicants are encouraged to approach any of our supervisors with their own project ideas.
Participating Departments at the University of Cambridge:
Cavendish Laboratory, Institute of Astronomy, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, Department of Zoology, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Faculty of Divinity, and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.
The origin and evolution of archaeal lipid membranes (Project 1)
Supervisor: Claudia Bonfio, Department of Biochemistry
Unlocking primitive cell division (Project 2)
Supervisor: Claudia Bonfio, Department of Biochemistry
Searching for the signs of geological and biological evolution in exoplanetary systems using white dwarfs
Supervisor: Amy Bonsor, Institute of Astronomy
Spectral response function mapping to detect Earth twins
Supervisor: David Buscher, Department of Physics
Precambrian mudrock from source-to-sink: an Earth analogue to identify pre-multicellular life habitable environments that have high biosignature preservation potential
Supervisor: Neil S. Davies, Department of Earth Sciences
Magnetising the early Earth
Supervisor: Richard Harrison, Department of Earth Sciences
How has Earth maintained climate stability for over 4 billion years?
Supervisor: Oliver Shorttle, Department of Earth Sciences and Institute of Astronomy
Simulating reaction networks for prebiotic environments
Supervisor: Alex Thom, Department of Chemistry
Constraining a cometary source of life's building blocks
Supervisor: Paul B Rimmer, Department of Physics
'Catastrophic collisions and planetary habitability': the Kaidun meteorite as a unique record of early solar system dynamics and delivery of volatiles to the terrestrial planets
Supervisor: Helen Williams, Department of Earth Sciences
The implications of large asteroid break-ups for (exo-)Earth climate and habitability
Supervisor: Mark Wyatt, Institute of Astronomy
For any enquiries, please contact: admin@lclu.cam.ac.uk