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Applications are invited for a fully-funded three year PhD to commence in October 2026.

The PhD will be based in the Faculty of Science and Health, and will be supervised by Dr Katherine Williams, Dr Neil Gostling and Dr Susanne Dietrich.

Candidates applying for this project may be eligible to compete for one of a small number of bursaries available. Successful applicants will receive a bursary to cover tuition fees for three years and a stipend in line with the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26). Bursary recipients will also receive a £1,500 p.a. for project costs/consumables.

Costs for student visa and immigration health surcharge are not covered by this bursary. For further guidance and advice visit our international and EU students ‘Visa FAQs’ page.

This funded PhD is only open to new students who do not hold a previous doctoral level qualification.

The structure of bone can tell us about the way an animal moves, how it grew, how old it was, and how it lived. It is both a structural composite material with strict biomechanical requirements and a tissue that reflects its depositional history. Studying bone structure can help us understand evolution, and interpret the fossil record. However, exact details of form-function relationships remain to be described in many animals, in particular in modern birds. This project will use cutting-edge, non-destructive visualisation techniques to characterise variation in skeletal microstructure through development in a ubiquitous bird, the rock dove (Columba livia), compare wild with domestic varieties, and investigate skeletal variation throughout the Columbidae, including some unusual flightless members: the dodo and the solitaire. You will work with X-ray CT imaging, as well as novel applications in nanostructure and biomechanics, for X-ray diffraction in collaboration with DIAD (Dual Imaging and Diffraction) beamline at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s synchrotron light source.

This project will provide novel insight into the structure-function relationship in avian bone, including the evolutionary adaptation of the Dodo to a ground-dwelling lifestyle. The new insight will improve the skeletal reconstructions of extinct or historical birds as well as non-avian dinosaurs. The findings will also have implications for the understanding of animal welfare, particularly in birds such as broiler chickens whose bone development is severely impacted by rapid growth rates and high body masses. Finally, understanding how bone structure and load are linked in altricial and precocial development will help design biomaterials, e.g. novel bone implants, with valuable mechanical properties currently not achievable in human bone.

How to apply

Please note that email applications are not accepted. If you have any project-specific questions please contact Dr Katherine Williams (Katherine.williams@port.ac.uk) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

When you are ready to apply, please use this . Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV. Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process.

If you want to be considered for this funded PhD opportunity you must quote project code ELS50590126 when applying.