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: Uncovering mutational processes associated to immune surveillance during breast cancer development and therapeutic interventions
Primary supervisor: Dr Luis Zapata Ortiz Primary site: Sutton Funded by ICRClosed: Uncovering mutational processes associated to immune surveillance during breast cancer development and therapeutic interventions
See full project detailsClosed: Triple Negative Breast cancer control of the immune tumour microenvironment in metastasis
Primary supervisor: Professor Victoria Sanz-Moreno Primary site: Chelsea Funded by UKRIClosed: Triple Negative Breast cancer control of the immune tumour microenvironment in metastasis
See full project detailsClosed: Targeting SRC in G4-Medulloblastoma
Primary supervisor: Dr Rob Van Montfort Primary site: Sutton Funded by Cancer Research UK-CBTCE (Paul Workman)Closed: Targeting SRC in G4-Medulloblastoma
See full project detailsClosed: Structural study of cotranscriptional spliceosomes stalled by antitumor compounds
Primary supervisor: Professor Vlad Pena Primary site: Chelsea Funded by Medical Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (MRC DTP)Closed: Structural study of cotranscriptional spliceosomes stalled by antitumor compounds
See full project detailsClosed: Role of the non-coding genome in the evolution of myeloma
Primary site: Sutton Funded by ICRClosed: Role of the non-coding genome in the evolution of myeloma
See full project detailsClosed: Molecular investigation on MuvB oncogenic complexes
Primary supervisor: Dr Claudio Alfieri Primary site: Chelsea Funded by ICRClosed: Molecular investigation on MuvB oncogenic complexes
See full project detailsClosed: Modifiable lifestyle factors and breast cancer survival and recurrence
Primary site: Sutton Funded by Breast Cancer NowClosed: Modifiable lifestyle factors and breast cancer survival and recurrence
See full project detailsClosed: Metabolic MRI of paediatric-type diffuse high grade glioma and its response to therapy in vivo
Primary supervisor: Professor Simon Robinson Primary site: Sutton Funded by Medical Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (MRC DTP)Closed: Metabolic MRI of paediatric-type diffuse high grade glioma and its response to therapy in vivo
See full project detailsClosed: Late-effects of paediatric cancer treatment
Primary supervisor: Professor Amy Berrington Primary site: Sutton Funded by NIHRClosed: Late-effects of paediatric cancer treatment
See full project detailsClosed: Late-effects of hypofractionated radiotherapy for breast cancer
Primary supervisor: Professor Amy Berrington Primary site: Sutton Funded by ICRClosed: Late-effects of hypofractionated radiotherapy for breast cancer
See full project detailsClosed: Investigating the cytoprotective role of the ectonucleotidase CD38 in immune responses to cancer
Primary supervisor: Dr Erik Wennerberg Primary site: Sutton Funded by ICRClosed: Investigating the cytoprotective role of the ectonucleotidase CD38 in immune responses to cancer
See full project detailsClosed: Investigating how myeloid populations may modify radiotherapy/immunotherapy responses in muscle-invasive bladder cancer
Primary supervisor: Dr Anna Wilkins Primary site: Sutton Funded by CRUK RadNetClosed: Investigating how myeloid populations may modify radiotherapy/immunotherapy responses in muscle-invasive bladder cancer
See full project detailsClosed: Immunopeptidome landscape of multiple myeloma
Primary supervisor: Professor Richard Houlston Primary site: Sutton Funded by ICRClosed: Immunopeptidome landscape of multiple myeloma
See full project detailsClosed: Hyper-activation of oncogenic signalling to treat colorectal tumours
Primary supervisor: Professor Trevor Graham Primary site: Sutton Funded by MRC iCASE Award (Merck)Closed: Hyper-activation of oncogenic signalling to treat colorectal tumours
See full project detailsClosed: HPV- and genome instability-driven innate immune responses in head and neck cancer
Primary supervisor: Dr Ben O'Leary Primary site: Chelsea Funded by CRUK RadNetClosed: HPV- and genome instability-driven innate immune responses in head and neck cancer
See full project detailsClosed: Exploring the interplay between histone acetyltransferase complexes in acute myeloid leukaemia
Primary supervisor: Dr Alex Radzisheuskaya Primary site: Chelsea Funded by Medical Research Council - Doctoral Training Partnership (MRC DTP)Closed: Exploring the interplay between histone acetyltransferase complexes in acute myeloid leukaemia
See full project details