The Cambridge Biosciences DTP is a four year PhD programme that aims to create highly skilled and employable people. The programme offers training across 23 University Departments/Institutes and 3 Partner Institutes providing access to a wide range of research areas related to the strategic themes of the BBSRC. We offer three types of DTP studentships:

• DTP Standard
• Targeted
• iCase

During the programme, DTP Standard and Targeted students will undertake two ten-week rotations in different labs before commencing their PhD. They will receive training in a variety of areas including but not limited to statistics, programming, ethics, data analysis, scientific writing and public engagement. Students will also undertake a 12-week internship (PIPS).

iCASE students are not required to undertake rotations, but may do so if they feel that this training would be useful. They must undertake a placement with their Industrial Partner for a minimum of three months and a maximum of 18 months.

Students will be expected to submit their thesis at the end of the fourth year.

Part-time study, whilst not the norm, may be viable, depending on the project, and will be considered on a case by case basis so please discuss this option with your proposed supervisor before making an application for this mode of study.

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From the Faculty of Biology

The course aims to select a cohort of students with the skills, motivation and ability to excel and create the next generation of scientific and business leaders in the therapeutics and healthcare sector.

The course is aimed at developing two types of mutually compatible future leaders:

Science Leaders: Those who make a decision to remain in science and will aspire to lead scientific teams, such as, but not limited to, heads of genomics, biology, therapeutic development & innovation and clinical development, either within institutions or in pharmaceutical or technology industry sector. These are the people who invent and discover the new technologies and therapies based on fundamental research.   

Science Hunters: These are the scientific entrepreneurs who understand Science Leaders’ innovations and who chiefly know how to transform the inventions into commercial opportunities

This highly multi-disciplinary course is co-developed and co-delivered with industry experts.

Students will develop an understanding of the mechanisms underlying normal function and subsequent dysfunction in human diseases and their amelioration or cure with advanced therapeutic regimes. The program provides students with the tools and skills necessary to understand, develop and implement modern cutting-edge techniques in therapeutic sciences and covers a range of conventional and novel therapeutic modalities, including understanding biological pathways and therapeutic mechanisms, diagnostic and prognostic tools, identifying novel targets, and characterizing the pharmacologic profiles of new compounds, including adverse effects and toxicity. The industry partner involvement in the development and delivery of the course sets it apart from others in the UK and internationally. Students will benefit greatly from the academic expertise and real-world insights which will be brought together in this academic-industry partnership. The course covers conventional small molecule drugs and novel therapeutics approaches from recombinant protein technologies, gene therapy, to cell-based therapies, regenerative medicine and others. Students will also learn the social, financial, ethical, legal and policy implications of the introduction of new therapies, and we therefore propose to link this training very closely to industrial, entrepreneurial, clinical and regulatory activities to encourage students to consider their studies in a society-wide context.

The course is delivered by academic and industry specialists and involves a combination of formal lectures, interactive sessions, group activities, case studies and e-learning.

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