See all our PhD projects:
Fully-funded PhD projects
Apply for our fully-funded PhD projects in subjects including chemistry, biology, computer science, and physics.
PhD opportunities for science graduates
Applications are now open for two PhD studentships starting in October 2026. The projects are listed below. Should you wish to be notified about future PhD opportunities, please subscribe to our mailing list.
Stipends
The ICR's current student stipend is £26,505 per year. Studentships awarded by the Cancer Research UK Convergence Science Centre, which is a partnership of the ICR and Imperial College London, instead includes a stipend paid at the Cancer Research UK rate of £24,219 per year.
Find out about our application process Mailing list
Funding
Funding for our PhD projects comes from a variety of different sources, including some funded programmes, such as the MRC Doctoral Training Partnership and the CRUK Science Centre at the ICR and Imperial.
Please note, the advertised funder may change prior to registration.
Available opportunities
Black Leaders in Cancer & Convergence PhD Studentships
We are currently inviting applications for two funded studentships offered through a joint recruitment call between the Black Leaders in Cancer Studentship and the Convergence PhD Programme. View available projects and find out how to apply.
Modifiable Risk Factors and Cancer Burden in the UK: Trends, Impact, and Prevention Opportunities
Primary supervisor: Professor Montse Garcia-Closas Primary site: Sutton Funded by CRUK CD3 ProgrammeModifiable Risk Factors and Cancer Burden in the UK: Trends, Impact, and Prevention Opportunities
See full project detailsEarly-Onset Breast Cancer Risk: Age-Specific Genetic Susceptibility and Prediction in Diverse Populations
Primary supervisor: Professor Montse Garcia-Closas Primary site: Sutton Funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral NetworksEarly-Onset Breast Cancer Risk: Age-Specific Genetic Susceptibility and Prediction in Diverse Populations
See full project detailsCLOSED: Structural dissection of β-catenin ubiquitylation by cryo-electronmicroscopy
Primary supervisor: Professor Sebastian Guettler Primary site: Chelsea Funded by CRUKCLOSED: Structural dissection of β-catenin ubiquitylation by cryo-electronmicroscopy
See full project detailsCLOSED: Enabling Oral Delivery of VHL-based PROTACs Through Formulation and Prodrug Design
Primary supervisor: Professor Swen Hoelder Primary site: Sutton Funded by MRC iCASE CRODA PharmaCLOSED: Enabling Oral Delivery of VHL-based PROTACs Through Formulation and Prodrug Design
See full project detailsCLOSED: Regulation of the β-catenin destruction complex by deubiquitylation
Primary supervisor: Professor Sebastian Guettler Primary site: Chelsea Funded by CRUKCLOSED: Regulation of the β-catenin destruction complex by deubiquitylation
See full project detailsCLOSED: Folate-Degrader Conjugates (FDCs) for Tumour-specific Targeting
Primary supervisor: Professor Zoran Rankovic Primary site: Sutton Funded by MRC iCASE award (AstraZeneca)CLOSED: Folate-Degrader Conjugates (FDCs) for Tumour-specific Targeting
See full project detailsCLOSED: New strategies for exploiting the fitness costs of drug resistance in cancer
Primary supervisor: Professor Trevor Graham Primary site: Sutton Funded by Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Network 2025CLOSED: New strategies for exploiting the fitness costs of drug resistance in cancer
See full project detailsCLOSED: Optimising radiotherapy dose-fractionation and volume for maximal synergy with immunotherapy
Primary supervisor: Dr Navita Somaiah, Dr Erik Wennerberg Primary site: Sutton Funded by CRUK RadNetCLOSED: Optimising radiotherapy dose-fractionation and volume for maximal synergy with immunotherapy
See full project detailsCLOSED: Towards non-invasive monitoring and prediction of cancer evolutionary dynamics from cfDNA
Primary supervisor: Professor Trevor Graham Primary site: Sutton Funded by Horizon Europe MSCA Doctoral Network 2025CLOSED: Towards non-invasive monitoring and prediction of cancer evolutionary dynamics from cfDNA
See full project detailsCLOSED: Cell cycle regulation of the WEE1 kinase
Primary supervisor: Professor Jonathon Pines Primary site: Chelsea Funded by Medical Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (MRC DTP)CLOSED: Cell cycle regulation of the WEE1 kinase
See full project detailsCLOSED: Development of the next generation circulating tumour DNA tests in gastrointestinal cancers
Primary supervisor: Professor Michael Hubank Primary site: Sutton Funded by NIHRCLOSED: Development of the next generation circulating tumour DNA tests in gastrointestinal cancers
See full project detailsCLOSED: The Multiscale Vulnerability Map: Cross-Discipline Multimodal Mining Reveals Colorectal Cancer's Hidden Weak Points
Primary supervisor: Professor Anguraj Sadanandam Primary site: Sutton Funded by MRC iCASE Award (Merck)CLOSED: The Multiscale Vulnerability Map: Cross-Discipline Multimodal Mining Reveals Colorectal Cancer's Hidden Weak Points
See full project detailsCLOSED: The Role of Early Plasma Cell Infiltration in Breast Cancer Immune Responses
Primary supervisor: Dr Esther Arwert Primary site: Chelsea Funded by ICRCLOSED: The Role of Early Plasma Cell Infiltration in Breast Cancer Immune Responses
See full project detailsCLOSED: Targeting Urea Cycle Dysregulation as a Tumour Specific Vulnerability in Lethal Prostate Cancer
Primary supervisor: Dr Alec Paschalis Primary site: Sutton Funded by ICRCLOSED: Targeting Urea Cycle Dysregulation as a Tumour Specific Vulnerability in Lethal Prostate Cancer
See full project detailsCLOSED: Enhancer-Gene Networks as Therapeutic Targets in Multiple Myeloma
Primary supervisor: Professor Martin Kaiser Primary site: Sutton Funded by ICRCLOSED: Enhancer-Gene Networks as Therapeutic Targets in Multiple Myeloma
See full project detailsCLOSED: Redox control of DNA replication: how mitochondrial ROS tune replisome function to preserve genome stability
Primary supervisor: Dr Jörg Mansfeld Primary site: Chelsea Funded by Medical Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (MRC DTP)CLOSED: Redox control of DNA replication: how mitochondrial ROS tune replisome function to preserve genome stability
See full project details