PhD Studentship

Location: School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland 

Post status: Fixed-term Contract–Full-time (48 months) 

Hours Of Post: 38 hours per week 

Salary: This scholarship will cover PhD tuition fees (overseas fee) and stipend (€25,000 per annum), subject to satisfactory progress.

Applications are invited for a 4 year fully funded PhD scholarship to work on a project ‘ GalSB— Utilising organic waste to produce bioactive Galactans: Providing a sustainable global platform for novel therapeutic approaches’, funded by the Research Ireland Pathway Programme. 

About Trinity: 

Trinity is Ireland’s leading university and is ranked 75th in the world (QS World University Rankings 2026). Founded in 1592, the University is steeped in history with a reputation for excellence in education, research, and innovation, which has been inspiring generations of thinkers for over 400 years. Trinity’s Current strategic place Thrive: Trinity College Dublin's Strategic Plan 2025 - 2030 

The pursuit of excellence through research and scholarship is at the heart of a Trinity education. Our researchers have an outstanding publication record and a strong record of grant success Trinity Research School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is ranked 28th in the world (QS World University Rankings 2026).

About the Project: 

Applications are invited for a 4 year fully funded PhD scholarship to work on GalSB, funded by the Research Ireland Pathway Programme and supervised by Dr Shipra Nagar and co-supervised by Prof. John Walsh in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. 

Galactans, galactose-based polysaccharides, possess broad spectrum of bioactivities, offering a potential as therapeutic drugs and delivery systems. Despite extensive literature on anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory galactans, they have not been progressed to therapeutics. Further, the chemical structure and its impact on galactans’ glycobiology, therapeutic potential, and suitability as drugs/targets, is not well understood. Applying Bioeconomy approach, the project aims to a) isolate galactan polysaccharides from biomass/industrial byproducts with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties; b) elucidate their chemical structure and physicochemical parameters; and c) employ metabolomics data mining tools to establish key physicochemical fingerprints responsible for each bioactivity and validating them experimentally. The successful candidate will contribute to achieving the above three project goals.

PERSON SPECIFICATION QUALIFICATIONS 

• A first-class honours or master’s degree (or equivalent) in Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Glycoscience, or a related discipline. 

• Applicants must meet Trinity College Dublin’s PhD entry requirements: https://www.tcd.ie/study/apply/admission-requirements/postgraduate/