PhD places at the University of Leeds

UKRI CDT in Artificial Intelligence for Medical Diagnosis and Care

10 funded PhD studentships per year for UK and international students.

This is an exciting opportunity to undertake an integrated four-year PhD and MSc in AI for Medical Diagnosis and Care.

The University of Leeds is one of the leading centres for research in the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve medicine and healthcare. The Leeds Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) has been awarded funding to deliver world-class training in AI and medicine to 50 PhD students with at least 10 new PhDs joining our CDT each year.

We are looking for highly motivated and talented individuals who can demonstrate a passion for impact-driven research. We emphasise diversity throughout all our activities and welcome applications from a wide range of skills and backgrounds. Our CDT programme includes an MSc and a PhD over four years working together in a cohort of students to build the necessary skills to unlock the immense potential of AI within the cancer diagnosis and care.

The Leeds CDT is built on a partnership with the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, one of the largest hospitals in Europe and a leading international centre for cancer research. Students benefit from an immersive experience in the UK National Health Service (NHS) and access to rich repositories of real data, and extensive clinical input within the Leeds research ecosystem. You will be prepared to develop and translate research into innovation in the NHS and healthcare – you will meet clinical and AI researchers on a routine basis, and will discuss your work with healthcare professionals and patients.

What are the unique features and benefits of the studentship?

• You will be supervised by interdisciplinary supervisory teams (clinical and AI supervisors) and will work closely with health professionals and their clinical research teams
• You will have the opportunity for a 3-month placement with one of our industry or public-sector partners
• You will join a vibrant research community and will participate in our weekly CDT seminars, the annual CDT Conference, the annual Turing CDT conference, and various research seminars at the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics.
• Through CDT-specific training, you will gain an understanding and experience in responsible research and innovation, ethics, research impact, and a broad range of research skills.

Entry requirements

A minimum of a II(i) honours degree, or equivalent qualification, in a Medicine and Health or Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) subject. For candidates whose first language is not English IELTS 6.5 overall, 7 writing, 6.5 other sections or TOEFL 100 overall, 25 writing, 22 other sections or equivalent.

Applicants who do not meet the criteria as listed above but who may meet the requirements via other qualifications and/or experience are encouraged to contact the relevant admissions team. This allows the applicant’s individual set of qualifications, and the context in which these were attained, to be considered.

Typically, our students have a 1st class honours degree or distinction in a Master’s degree prior to entry.

Funding

There are a number of highly competitive EPSRC fully funded studentship awards for Session 2023/24 covering the full cost of University fees plus maintenance. Applications are open to all applicants, with opportunities for International Fee rated applicants limited by UKRI to 3. See website for details.

Deadline

The next deadline for application is Monday 3rd July 2023 (This round is for UK fee rated applicants only).

Further information

If you require any further information, please contact us at AI-Medical@leeds.ac.uk or visit our website.

The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and the School of Medicine have received the prestigious Athena SWAN Silver and GOLD Award, respectively in recognition of our success in recruiting, retaining and developing/promoting women in Science, Engineering and Technology. We welcome scholarship applications from all qualified candidates, from diverse ethnic background and genders. See our student profiles.

At the University of Leeds (/Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Medical Diagnosis and Care), we are committed to providing a culture of inclusion, respect and equity of opportunity that attracts, supports and retains the best students and staff from all backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from those historically underrepresented in higher education including, but not limited to, Black, Asian and other people who belong to a minoritised ethnic community; people who identify as LGBTQ+; and disabled people. Candidates will always be selected based on merit and ability.