The food, fibre and fuel requirements of an ever-increasing population are some of the major challenges facing current society. This means that there is a clear need for innovation and technology to increase crop productivity in a sustainable way. Key targets include increasing photosynthetic efficiency, reducing losses caused by pests and diseases, enhancing food safety and quality for better nutrition, minimising waste throughout the food supply chain, and improving the processing of biomass materials for fuels and other plant derived chemicals and materials. It will be vital that existing and new technologies be applied across the agri-sciences. Multidisciplinary approaches being the likely drivers enabling this. Chemical Biology through physical science innovation (in e.g. chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering) is able to tackle biological problems on a molecular level and in so doing will lead to the development of novel technologies that will address future agri-science needs. This proposed chemical biology AGri-sciences Research Information network (AGRI-Net) will bring together researchers and end-users from academia, industry and government agencies. It will enhance interactions between the Agri-science and Chemical Biology communities, and stimulate the development and facilitate the translation of novel technologies to key stakeholders in the agri-sciences.This will lead to the development of high-impact multi-disciplinary research which is targeted at one of the world's grand challenges, Crop Sustainability. The aim of the network is to foster cross-fertilisation between different research disciplines and provide added value to the Agri-science research landscape. In this context, Chemical biology is the application of tools and technologies generated by the physical sciences (ie chemistry, physics, mathematics and engineering) to bottlenecks limiting progress within the agri-science research environment (ie agri-chemistry, pest control, crop efficiency and protection, etc.). This will be achieved via a number of mechanisms. In the first instance a virtual networking environment will be created, via a web-based community portal. This will foster interactions between stakeholders. AGRI-net will also host meetings and showcase and creativity ideas generation events in conjunction with industrial partners. It will identify promising ideas arising from these events and fund feasibility study to test out these new concepts and approaches.These projects will rapidly enhance the network, engaging all communities and will result in a corresponding increase of pace and impact of the research efforts, as these initial studies will be used to pump-prime large scale funding opportunities. AGRI-net will expose the communities to new tools and technologies that could advance progress in plant, fungal and insect biology and deepen knowledge needed to overcome bottlenecks in developing new solutions to improve crop protection and sustainability. Given that Food and Energy security are two of the major challenges that face society today, and have been identified as key strategic priorities for future research funding by both the BBSRC and EPSRC, the nucleus formed by AGRI-net is expected to evolve and grow over time. New collaborative projects and alliances on an international scale will be generated, via current links with international academic and industrial partners, and through the introduction of new members to the network.

Collectively, fungal diseases pose a greater threat to animals, plants and ecosystems than other types of infectious micro-organism. Fungal infections of man kill millions and most often occur in patients with severe underlying health conditions such as cancer, or chronic lung disorders such as cystic fibrosis. Fungal infections of plants destroy enough crops annually to feed many millions of people. However, there are a very limited number of antifungal drugs available for use agriculturally or in the clinic and some classes of antifungal drugs, for example the azoles. are therefore used to treat both human and plant fungal infections. In 2018 azole-based fungicides accounted for 34% of the antifungal agents used to treat crops. Worryingly, resistance to all classes of available antifungal drugs is increasing and azole resistance occurring in agricultural settings crosses over into the clinic in around 40% of cases in some settings. This project builds on decades of previous genetic and infection studies, including a PhD project where a new set of chemicals were showed as having antifungal activity. These chemicals attack a fungal signalling mechanism needed for infection and invasion by fungal pathogens in man, plants, animals and we will now work to understand how they work. We will also try to make them more potent, and work with industry to develop them for use in agriculture or in the clinic.

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

The traditional PhD programme begins with a student seeking out a PhD position early on in their final year of undergraduate study. The time elapsed between a student choosing their project and actually starting is generally between 6-8 months - can a student really be sure that the right choice has been made under these circumstances? This choice is probably the most important decision an aspiring professional researcher can make, yet students can make ill informed, naive or simply unsuitable PhD choices based on their perceived interests and limited research experience. Bristol Chemical Synthesis (BCS) is a Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) that offers a different and much enhanced PhD training experience to the traditional path. Crucially, students join the Centre in October but do not choose their PhD research project until 7-months later. Students spend these 7-months completing a unique, multifaceted training period called Postgraduate Advanced Chemical Techniques (PACT). The over-arching goal of PACT is to equip the students with the tools required to make the best-informed PhD project choice, to develop a creative attitude towards problem solving and to build self-confidence with presentations and by speaking publicly. PACT also provides a formal assessment mechanism before students progress to their PhD projects. Brainstorming involves the students generating ideas on outline research proposals which they then present to the staff members in a lively and engaging feedback session, which invariably sees new and student-driven ideas emerge. By encouraging teamwork and presentation skills, as well as allowing students to become fully engaged with the projects and staff, brainstorming ensures that students take control of a PhD proposal before they start - 'Partners not Slaves' is our vision. Research Broadening Sabbaticals comprise three successive 7-week lab rotations designed to include a period of "known" work, enabling the student to practice new skills required for further research. Rotations are important in giving students the opportunity to learn new techniques beyond their undergraduate experience, providing them with time to consider and reflect on their choice of PhD by offering "tasters" in different areas of synthetic chemistry. Dynamic Laboratory Manual (DLM) enabled experiments allow students to experience an interactive, virtual version of an essential experimental technique. Pioneered at the undergraduate level at Bristol, DLMs consist of a mixture of simulations, videos, tutorials and quizzes to allow the student to gain a full understanding of a technique and learn from mistakes quickly, effectively and safely before entering the lab. Chemical Synthesis is an area upon which much of modern society relies as it enables the customised fabrication of products that are the essential materials of our daily lives. Examples are wide and diverse from vital life saving drugs to the chromic materials that make your iPad screen change in an instant. There are 15 key UK industry sectors in which chemistry is an essential component, employing over 5 million people and contributing £258bn (21%) to the UK's GDP. Pharma, agrochem, petrochem, fine & bulk chemical manufacturing and CRO industries are major players in these industries and UK competitiveness here is unsustainable without the continued supply of highly trained & skilled chemical synthesis PhD graduates. Our Centre will train the next generation of synthetic chemistry architects equipped to solve the diverse molecular problems of the future.