Interdisciplinary Bioscience BBSRC Doctoral Training

The Oxford Interdisciplinary Bioscience Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) programme is a four-year DPhil/PhD programme supported by the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council (BBSRC) that provides innovative training for graduates from a life science, physical science or computational and mathematical science background who wish to conduct leading-edge bioscience research.

Research areas within the programme include integrative animal and plant biology, mechanistic molecular and cellular biology, and bioscience for food, industry and health (including crop science, animal health, synthetic biology, industrial biotechnology and the development of innovative approaches for drug discovery, pharmaceutical production and reproductive medicine). The majority of research projects undertaken by DTP students involve “transformative technologies”, which include advanced imaging and data analysis techniques, the development and application of new and emerging methods and technologies, mathematical modelling, ‘omic and systems biology approaches, and innovative approaches to address the three Rs. The programme also provides training for graduates working on specific projects, including projects funded through BBSRC Industrial CASE studentship awards and Collaborative Training Partnership awards.

The programme is led by the University of Oxford in partnership with and eight world-class research organisations - the Pirbright Institute, which provides the UK’s national capabilities for the study and control of viral diseases of livestock, Oxford Brookes University, and five research organisations at the Harwell Campus Oxford (Diamond Light Source, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, STFC Central Laser Facility and the Research Complex at Harwell), which provide the UK’s national capabilities for synchrotron science, neutron science and laser science, and the new Rosalind Franklin Institute, which will open in 2020, and supports the development of new methods for life science research in areas such as imaging, spectroscopy and structural biology. We are also partnered with the Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford, an innovative target discovery and translational research institute. The DTP’s training programme draws on expertise in all nine partner organisations and students will have the opportunity to visit different sites and learn about the facilities and expertise available across these organisations during the initial training phase.

You will undertake a four-year doctoral training programme. In your first term you are based at the Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) at the University of Oxford and undertake an individually-tailored training programme that includes training in research skills such as mathematics and statistics, programming, imaging and image analysis, bioinformatics, and modelling biological processes and systems. You can also access a wide variety of additional training provided across the partnership throughout your doctoral studies.

A distinctive feature of the DTP training programme is that you are required to undertake a 12-week internship or placement to gain experience of work in a professional environment and in transferable skills that will be beneficial in your future career. Areas that may be explored during internships include industrial research and development, science policy, teaching, science communication, publishing, entrepreneurship and project management.