Training of theÊDynamic Molecular Cell Biology (Wellcome Trust)Êprogramme offered by the University of BristolÊcovers the spectrum from the purest studies of fundamental cell biology through to direct and translational applications to human disease.
We are looking for talented and motivated students who are willing to take up the many varied challenges in cell biology and are open to learning about new disciplines and working across different fields.
Programme structure
- First year
You will have the opportunity to study a range of research topics with different supervisors and undertake three 10-week laboratory-based research projects.
Your first rotation will be in a cellular lab, where you'll gain experience in cell culture and standard wide-field/confocal cell imaging alongside super-resolution imaging.
Your second rotation will be in a disease/model organism lab to extend skills into in vivo applied context and in techniques such as multiphoton imaging.
Finally, your third rotation will be in a molecular lab to become familiar with in vitro biochemical and biophysical methods, including protein production, complex assembly, functional reconstitution, high-resolution electron microscopy and single molecular imaging.
Write-ups, posters and presentations on the three rotation projects are completed by the end of June, providing you with three months in which to select your full PhD laboratory and focus on your proposed research project before the second year starts.
- Second to fourth years
You will join a single laboratory for the remaining years of your PhD. On occasions there may be collaborative projects between two participating labs.
After your first year, you will be integrated into the PhD programme of your host school, which will depend on your chosen topic. These school programmes are similar to one another but not identical. In general, they involve submission of an end-of-year progress report to the departmental postgraduate tutor and an afternoon of seminars presented by your year cohort in that school, and subsequently an informal interview/viva with the postgraduate tutor or another senior academic. You will also remain under the wing of the Dynamic Molecular Cell Biology programme itself, which has its own monitoring procedure.
Careers
The vast majority of graduates go on to perform post-doctoral research in world-leading laboratories in the UK, Europe and the US. Some students have taken graduate-level entry to study medicine or entered teacher training programmes.
