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
On average, we advertise around 15-20 fully-funded PhD opportunities each year. This year we will be advertising our new projects and accepting applications from Wednesday 8th October 2025. Projects for the 2024/2025 PhD studentships can be browsed below. You will also find a link to further information about our application process and our mailing list, should you wish to be notified about future PhD opportunities.
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 £23,000 per year.
Find out about our application process Mailing list
PhD Application Workshop
If you’ve got or are on track for a good degree in the sciences (First or Upper Second, or equivalent), or a relevant Master’s and are passionate about science, we would welcome your application.
If you have any questions or need help figuring our if the ICR is the right fit for you, we will be hosting an online application workshop on Wednesday 8th October 2025 from 12.00 – 13.00 (UK time). This free workshop will provide you with information, advice, and guidance on the PhD application process directly from our academic recruitment lead and current PhD students. If you would like to join the workshop please register your interest using our registration survey.
Available opportunities
You can view details of the 2024/2025 projects below.
Our 2025/2026 projects will be advertised from Wednesday 8th October 2025.
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.
See all our PhD projects:
Closed: Examining the mechanism of chromatin telomere replication
Primary supervisor: Dr Max Douglas Primary site: Sutton Funded by Medical Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (MRC DTP)Closed: Examining the mechanism of chromatin telomere replication
See full project detailsClosed: Enhancing immune responses to radiation with spatiotemporal dose modulation and drug combinations
Primary supervisor: Dr Magnus Dillon Primary site: Sutton Funded by CRUK RadNetClosed: Enhancing immune responses to radiation with spatiotemporal dose modulation and drug combinations
See full project detailsClosed: Enabling novel E3 ligases for targeted protein degradation therapeutics
Primary site: Sutton Funded by Medical Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (MRC DTP)Closed: Enabling novel E3 ligases for targeted protein degradation therapeutics
See full project detailsClosed: Development of small molecules targeting the TRF1 subunit of the telomeric Shelterin complex
Primary supervisor: Professor Sebastian Guettler Primary site: Sutton Funded by MRC iCASE Award (Merck)Closed: Development of small molecules targeting the TRF1 subunit of the telomeric Shelterin complex
See full project detailsClosed: Development of automatic plan-of-the-day selection tools for radiation therapy of pelvic cancer
Primary supervisor: Professor Helen McNair Primary site: Sutton Funded by Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)Closed: Development of automatic plan-of-the-day selection tools for radiation therapy of pelvic cancer
See full project detailsClosed: Development of a microbeam-FLASH irradiator for pre-clinical radiation therapy research
Primary supervisor: Professor Uwe Oelfke Primary site: Sutton Funded by ICRClosed: Development of a microbeam-FLASH irradiator for pre-clinical radiation therapy research
See full project detailsClosed: Developing novel mRNA vaccines against cancer associated mis-splicing events to enhance therapy response
Primary supervisor: Dr Rachael Natrajan Primary site: Sutton Funded by Medical Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (MRC DTP)Closed: Developing novel mRNA vaccines against cancer associated mis-splicing events to enhance therapy response
See full project detailsClosed: Developing Direct-to-Biology for Molecular Glue Discovery
Primary supervisor: Professor Zoran Rankovic Primary site: Sutton Funded by MRC iCASE award (AstraZeneca)Closed: Developing Direct-to-Biology for Molecular Glue Discovery
See full project detailsClosed: Determining the role of the adaptive immune system in controlling breast cancer metastasis and evolution
Primary supervisor: Dr Stephen-John Sammut Primary site: Chelsea Funded by Medical Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (MRC DTP)Closed: Determining the role of the adaptive immune system in controlling breast cancer metastasis and evolution
See full project detailsClosed: Decoding the ALT Pathway: Identifying Synthetic Lethal Targets and Biomarkers for Precision Cancer Therapy
Primary supervisor: Professor Wojciech Niedzwiedz Primary site: Chelsea Funded by MRC iCASE Award (Merck)Closed: Decoding the ALT Pathway: Identifying Synthetic Lethal Targets and Biomarkers for Precision Cancer Therapy
See full project detailsClosed: Deciphering the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in radiotherapy resistance for HPV+ head and neck cancers
Primary supervisor: Dr Ben O'Leary Primary site: Sutton Funded by ICRClosed: Deciphering the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in radiotherapy resistance for HPV+ head and neck cancers
See full project detailsClosed: Computational analysis of spatial dynamics in breast cancer
Primary supervisor: Dr Esther Arwert Primary site: Chelsea Funded by Breast Cancer NowClosed: Computational analysis of spatial dynamics in breast cancer
See full project detailsClosed: Advancing clinical elastography for early, non-invasive imaging assessment of normal tissue toxicity and tumour response
Primary supervisor: Dr Jessica Winfield Primary site: Sutton Funded by NIHR BRC at RMH/ICRClosed: Advancing clinical elastography for early, non-invasive imaging assessment of normal tissue toxicity and tumour response
See full project details