Research and Postgraduate Study
Our research programme is interdisciplinary and highly collaborative and we welcome queries from potential collaborators, including academics who are interested in undertaking sabbaticals in Oxford and industrial partners.
We welcome queries from prospective postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, including researchers who are interested in applying for competitively awarded fellowships. When we have funded positions available they will be listed on this page.
Many of the graduate students in the group are supported through the UKRI BBSRC-funded Oxford Interdisciplinary Bioscience Doctoral Training Partnership and we encourage prospective graduate students to consider applying to this programme as well as directly for a DPhil in Biology. Prospective applicants may also be interested in the UKRI NERC-funded Environmental Research DTP depending on their interests. Please note that the admissions cycle in Oxford means that graduate applications normally need to be received via the University’s online application system before the January application deadline to be considered for funding and entry in September/October of the same year.
If you are interested in joining our team as a postdoctoral or postgraduate researcher please send an e-mail to gail.preston@plants.ox.ac.uk, including your CV and a covering letter that explains your specific interest in our research as well as providing information on your experience to date.
Internships and Research Visits
We welcome queries from students who are interested in undertaking internships with our group. Undergraduate internships are normally undertaken during the summer and may be supported by a variety of different sources including the Microbiology Society, the British Society for Plant Pathology, the Royal Society of Biology (Plant Health Undergraduate Studentships) and the Genetics Society. We encourage eligible applicants from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and groups that are under-represented in postgraduate study to also consider applying to the University of Oxford’s UNIQ+ Internship Programme.
Please note that although we welcome postgraduate and postdoctoral visitors we cannot normally accommodate requests for postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers to undertake research visits with us unless they will be participating directly in our ongoing research or in collaborative work that closely aligns with our current interests and expertise.
The availability of internships and opportunities to undertake research visits is subject to availability of mentoring and resources, as we aim to ensure that all interns and visitors to the group are well-supported.
If you are interested in undertaking an internship or research visit with us please e-mail gail.preston@plants.ox.ac.uk with your CV and a covering letter that explains your specific interest in our research. Please note that funding deadlines for undergraduate summer placements and internships normally fall between February-April, so we encourage prospective applicants to contact us between November-March.
