Projects
UniDLA offers an outstanding opportunity for doctoral training in partnership with Unilever, a world leading consumer goods company whose products are sold in 190 countries and used by over 3.4 billion people every day. The programme is designed to provide worldclass scientific training, coaching and educational development for the next generation of research leaders, enabling them to address scientific challenges critical to delivering innovative consumer products of the future.
Projects span Unilever’s Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care and Home Care divisions, as well as our centre of excellence in Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Science. Each project is codesigned and codelivered with leading UK universities to ensure high-quality academic collaboration and impactful industrial training.
Read about the available projects below. Click here to apply
Cohort 1 (Oct 2026 start) Projects
All projects are available as a 4-year PhD. You may contact project supervisors for further information about project opportunities. This does not commit a candidate to these laboratories.
BBSRC UniDLA Projects
A Biogeochemical Framework for Understanding Biodegradation
Bioprospecting and enzyme design for the development of novel antifungal technologies
Investigating the Role of Post‑Translational Modification in Modulating Enzyme Stability and Activity
Skin lipid composition – Significance of apocrine gland secretions in modulating the skin microbiome
The root cause: uncovering how a topical treatment drives deeper hair follicle benefits
Unilever – University Projects
These projects are funded by Unilever and a University, not by the BBSRC/UKRI. Terms and Conditions of the studentship may therefore differ from those of UKRI's. However, stipend level, studentship duration and all activities associated with the UniDLA programme will be the same as for the other projects.
Decoding the Stress-to-Gut Signalling Axis: Genetic and Molecular Dissection of a Pathway Misattributed to Sleep Loss
Enhancing female resilience to sleep loss via nutritional supplementation.
Neural Mechanisms of Desire Across Sensory Modalities
The microbiome & skin responses to solar radiation: is there a connection?
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Funding
University
Cohorts
A Biogeochemical Framework for Understanding Biodegradation
Bioprospecting and enzyme design for the development of novel antifungal technologies
Decoding the Stress-to-Gut Signalling Axis: Genetic and Molecular Dissection of a Pathway Misattributed to Sleep Loss
Enhancing female resilience to sleep loss via nutritional supplementation.
Investigating the Role of Post‑Translational Modification in Modulating Enzyme Stability and Activity
Neural Mechanisms of Desire Across Sensory Modalities
Skin lipid composition – Significance of apocrine gland secretions in modulating the skin microbiome
The microbiome & skin responses to solar radiation: is there a connection?
The root cause: uncovering how a topical treatment drives deeper hair follicle benefits