Plant Science

Programmes

Sainsbury PhD Studentships

Rigorous selection criteria, generous funding, high expectations and a comprehensive package of training ensure our PhD studentships attract and develop exceptional talent among young scientists who will become tomorrow’s leaders in science.

Sainsbury PhD Studentships
The Sainsbury Plant Sciences PhD programme plays a crucial role in training graduate cohorts from across the UK. Students establish professional networks at the very beginning of their career that they build on in later years whether they stay in research or not. Our goal is to embed plant sciences in as many walks of life as possible.
Jane Langdale FRS, Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford and Chair of the Gatsby Plant Science Advisors

This long-running programme has developed some of the highest quality plant science researchers in universities, and has influenced a large group who now work in teaching, commerce, finance, policy and industry. It is the recognised gold standard for students taking a PhD in plant sciences and Sainsbury students consistently perform at a level above that of their contemporaries. This is in part due to the rigorous selection criteria that identify only the very best students, but is enhanced by the annual training weekend held each Easter in Cambridge, where the students are mentored in giving talks, producing posters, and writing papers and dissertations, and have the chance to interact with speakers on a variety of topics.

Gatsby’s Plant Science Advisors select up to three Sainsbury postgraduate research students each year, after interviewing up to eight candidates. The PhD studentships provide an enhanced stipend comparable to Wellcome studentships, as well as laboratory expenses and university fees for four years. Students are encouraged to spend part of their studentship at another university or institute to gain additional experience.

Recipients of Sainsbury PhD Studentships

2024

  • Eloise Maher, John Innes Centre
  • Sophie Mason, Oxford
  • Alanna McCutcheon, Dundee
  • Mike Voyt, John Innes Centre

2023

  • Christopher Bell, Oxford

2022

  • Arran Horne, Glasgow
  • Henrietta Patterson, John Innes Centre

2021

  • Katie Long, John Innes Centre
  • William Davis, Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge

2020

  • Giovanni Giuriani, Glasgow
  • Maude Grenier, Edinburgh

2019

  • Aaron Ang, JIC
  • Benjamin Fisk, Cambridge
  • Zachary Paling, Leeds

2018

  • Martina De Angelis, Leeds
  • Joshua Joyce, John Innes Centre
  • Imelda Uwase, James Hutton Institue
  • Lindsay Williams, Edinburgh

2017

  • Siegfried Leher, John Innes Centre

2016

  • Zoe Nemec Venza, Bristol 
  • Adeline Sourdille, James Hutton Institute
  • Jessica Upson, Sainsbury Lab Norwich

2015

  • Chiara Perico, Exeter 
  • James Walker, John Innes Centre

2014

  • Alexander Blackwell, Cambridge
  • Jaynee Elizabeth Hart, Glasgow

2013

  • Alice Baillie, Sheffield
  • Sylwia Kacprzak, Southampton
  • Jennifer Walton, John Innes Centre 

2012

  • Patrick Dickinson, Cambridge 
  • Jonathan Hughes, Sheffield

Sainsbury PhD Studentships