Systems Biology Doctoral Training Centre

We aim to train the next generation of scientists who will work to meet the challenges of transforming the wealth of biological data made available through recent experimental advances into a predictive and quantitative understanding of living systems. Progress will require continued technological advances across the range of experimental techniques in the wet laboratory, in imaging and monitoring, and in biological and chemical synthesis. These technological advances, often grounded in novel physical sciences research, will be matched by the development of new mathematical and computational approaches which model the underlying biological processes at the systems level. These developments will go hand in hand, as theoretical models are increasingly used to predict novel experimental avenues, and experimental data are in turn used to build and validate theoretical models.

A major advantage of the programme is that the choice of PhD project is not made until after the completion of two terms of taught modules covering the breadth of scientific knowledge and techniques needed to carry out successful research, followed by two short research projects with prospective PhD academic supervisors situated within groups across the University. The student is then empowered to make a fully informed choice of substantive research project.