UK-4 Years PhD Studentships in Chemical Biology

Chemical Biology Centre, UK

This PhD studentships is offered only to those who hold academics position. The studentships cover stipend for a total of 4 years. The stipend levels are approximately: year 1, £14,800; year 2, £15,050; year 3, £15,320; year 4, £15,590. In addition, there is a consumable allowance of £3,000 per student per annum and travel allowance for the student of £1,000 in total.

The Chemical Biology Centre (CBC) is a joint venture between Imperial College, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and London Research Institute of Cancer Research UK (CRUK). The CBC has been awarded an EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in the area of Chemical Biology.

The CBC has particular expertise and interest in working on the molecular details of protein and lipid interaction and its subsequent application to the development of biomolecular therapies. There will be particular emphasis on quantitative measurement and modelling, focussing on the study of macromolecular interactions, in particular where intervention may lead to further understanding of diseases and be ultimately of clinical benefit.

The CBC focuses on the training of physical scientists in the arts of multidisciplinary chemical biology research. The training programme provides a means whereby young physical scientists can bridge disparate fields and gain the confidence to grapple with biomolecular research in a multidisciplinary environment.

Each year the Chemical Biology Centre (CBC) Doctoral Training Centre invites proposals from academics for 4 year PhD studentships. The next call for studentship proposals will be September 2008.

The DTC addresses the acknowledged shortage of welltrained physical scientists capable of contributing to bioscience. The central research theme of the DTC is concerned with understanding proteinprotein and proteinlipid interactions as targets for biological intervention. In particular:

• The development and application of new measurement, modelling, computational and chemical approaches to specific biological problems.
• The establishment of engineering rules underlying such interactions with a view to making clinically relevant interventions for therapeutic purposes.

The DTC is funded to support a total of 50 students over a total period of 9 years (the first student intake started their training in October 2003. Each studentship will comprise a 1 year MRes in the Chemical Biology of Health and Disease, followed by a 3year PhD. The MRes course involves lecture material in basic Chemical Biology, which lasts from OctoberJanuary, followed by a research project that runs from January to September.

Student Eligibility

The awarding body is the EPSRC of the UK. Therefore students must conform to the eligibility requirements laid down by the EPSRC, which normally means that the student must be a UK resident.

Please see http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/ for a full list of conditions.

We may however have a limited number of EU places available

All students must have a good honours degree (2.1 or above) in a physical sciences subject with the normal requirement being an MSci (or equivalent).

Supervisor Eligibility

At least two of the Supervisors must hold a full academic position at Imperial College that is tenured over the complete period of the studentship (this does not mean that a supervisor who does not hold a position for the full four year period cannot apply. However, in such circumstances a third supervisor would have to be added. Who could continue the student supervision if the original supervisors’ tenure was not extended)? they should fulfil the usual College criteria for eligibility to act as a PhD supervisor. All Supervisors should normally have full academic posts in a recognised London institution. Supervisors outside of London may be included but must be approved by the Board.

Project Requirements

• It is fundamental to the grant award that all projects must be inherently multidisciplinary and must include at least two supervisors. The supervisors should provide the different skill sets, and the most usual division will be to have one “biological” and one “physical” supervisor (These definitions are not meant to be restrictive, nor are they necessarily defined by departmental affiliations. What is
  important is exposure of the student to multiple disciplines, wherever these are located) . The supervisors must be from different labs (however two supervisors from the same lab may apply if a third supervisor is involved with the project). It is expected that the students will typically undertake work in each research environment for some part of their studies, including the MRes project.
• Proposals will typically identify a biological problem for study and a technology improvement to address the problem with. Technologies can be experimental or theoretical.
• The DTC programme, under the administration of the CBC, involves quarterly colloquia and Visiting Professor lectures. In order to encourage wide interactions we make attendance at these programmes a mandatory requirement for both students and supervisors.
• All CBC students are registered in the Department of Chemistry. The students are funded for 4 years in total, comprising a 1year MRes followed by a 3year PhD. Both the MRes and PhD projects are undertaken with the same set of supervisors? it is therefore necessary to allocate the research work so that a selfcontained MResproject can be carried out during the initial year. This part of the project should also be multidisciplinary in nature. It is not normally possible for a student to omit the MRes year.

Studentships Application Process
The awards will be made on the basis of written applications to the CBC Research Board, who will be responsible for deciding which applications should be supported. Once an application has been selected for funding it is the responsibility of the supervisors to fill the positions with suitably qualified candidates. Please note that while all steps will be taken to ensure that all applications are treated fairly, the decision of the CBC Research Board will be final. Applications should be made on the attached form describing the science to be undertaken and its relevance to the physical sciences/ life sciences interface. In order to encourage wide participation, please note that we will not consider more than two applications from the same lead supervisor.

It will be essential to demonstrate that your project will fit the CBC remit (please see above). Please clearly state the synergies expected with specific current CBC projects (please see attached list), indicating the expected nature of the interactions with specific existing projects.

Further guidelines and advice can be found at project selection criteria page and also at the information session that will be held on 13 th September.

When filling in the application form it is important to demonstrate that your proposed project meets all the criteria listed. Proposals should clearly outline the innovative aspect of the research counterbalanced by its achievability in terms of time and funds. Please specify your research infrastructure, including the access to resources already in place and any additional needs. Projects should also be able to add significant value to the scientific community on an international level and its predicted impact should be outlined.

Proposals that have an aspect of leverage or subsidy, or are likely to result in generation of further funds will be encouraged. We actively encourage participants to discuss potential projects with members of the CBC Board (listed below) if they are unsure of the
procedure or the remit.

Applications to the CBC Research Board should be made using the form appended. Please complete your application by entering your text directly into this Word document. Please restrict your application to the two pages provided (please do not use a font less than 10 pt). We request that you send both an electronic copy by email to Alison Stubbings (alison.stubbings@imperial.ac.uk) and a hard copy by post to:

Alison Stubbings
Rm 265, Chemistry
Imperial College
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2AZ

Important Dates

Thursday 13 th September 2007, Information session (12 noon, Seminar & Learning Centre room 1, 5 th Floor Sherfield Building, Imperial College, South Kensington campus)

Friday 28 th September 2007: Application deadline.

By 15 October 2007: CBC Board to review received applications and seek additional
information from applicants, if necessary.

29 October 2007: Allocation of projects.

It is the responsibility of supervisors to ensure that studentship places are filled by 30 April 2008. Any studentship that does not have a suitable student signed up at this time will be deemed to have forfeited the award, which will be reassigned to reserve projects – this deadline will be strictly enforced.