Infection Medicine PhD

Research profile

Infection Medicine (IM) is a multidisciplinary centre at the University of Edinburgh that consists of academic and clinical research groups within the Edinburgh Medical School working on infectious diseases. The centre focuses on basic, translational and clinical aspects of infectious diseases caused by a broad range of different pathogens, and is part of the Edinburgh Infectious Diseases (EID) umbrella organization.

Involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching for Biomedical Sciences (BMS), Biological Sciences (BS) and Medical (M.B.Ch.B.) students, the centre has developed an extended teaching and training portfolio ranging from various undergraduate courses on infectious diseases to online and residential Masters programmes, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses and a PhD programme in Infection Medicine.

Staff and students come from across the world and maintain a very international and interdisciplinary culture. IM principal investigators (PIs) lead or participate in a wide range of research and policy programmes with partners in the UK, Europe and globally. They have been instrumental in the foundation and operation of the Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJE) in China.

Training and support

The centre offers exciting opportunities to pursue PhD research in the one of the cutting-edge research themes, and the possibility to engage simultaneously in basic, translational and clinical aspects of infectious diseases.

This programme is highly relevant for graduates with a biomedical sciences background. However, it is also attractive to international applicants with a medical undergraduate degree who are interested to achieve a PhD within a defined short period of time (3 years), as an important step on the track to become a research clinician in the field of infectious diseases.

The research training provided is supported by access to a wide range of scientific and clinical seminars. In addition, transferable skills and competencies in many relevant areas will be enhanced by courses in presentation skills, project management and writing skills delivered through the University of Edinburgh's Institute of Academic Development (IAD).