Each student is assigned a principal supervisor who has expertise in the student’s research area and is accessible to offer advice on all aspects of the project. The supervisor's main role at the LMB is to help students clarify their own ideas and guide their independent research efforts.  Postgraduate students are expected to have the capacity and enthusiasm for organising their own research and to work on their own initiative.

Students can expect to have regular lab meetings with their supervisor and with other lab members. The regularity with which postgraduate students meet with their Supervisor varies throughout the year but meetings are likely to be more frequent to start with, during the planning stages, and during the writing-up phase. All students should have the opportunity to seek formal feedback from their Supervisor, and Supervisors should have the opportunity to give such feedback.

The University of Cambridge publishes an annual Code of Practice which sets out the University’s expectations regarding supervision.

There is an extensive seminar programme onsite and students can also attend seminars held in the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and the University. Students are able to attend a number of training courses in transferable and general research skills. The LMB runs a series of lectures on Biophysical and Molecular Biology Techniques that all postgraduate students are expected to attend.

Students are expected to attend the Laboratory Annual Symposium, the Postgraduate Student Lecture series in October each year - which comprises lectures by faculty members, as well as the first year PhD student lectures, usually held in October.

Students are expected to present their work at the research talks and laboratory meetings held within their own research area. Students may also have opportunities to present their work at national and international scientific meetings.