Cancer Biology
University of Leeds
About the Project This fully funded PhD position will reward the successful candidate with an award covering full fees, a maintenance stipend in line with UKRI rates, and a Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour (LITAC) grant worth 10,000 GBP for personal development and consumables. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to join the PGR community in the School of Design and access training and support for their specialism.
- Location
- Leeds, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 30 September 2026
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)
Cancer Biology
University of Dundee
About the Project Gliomas are among the most aggressive and treatment-resistant forms of brain cancer. Despite advances in surgery, radiotherapy and targeted therapies, patient outcomes remain poor, largely because the blood-brain barrier (BBB) restricts drug delivery and tumour cells rapidly develop resistance to treatment.
- Location
- Dundee, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 19 October 2026
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)
Cancer Biology
University of Bristol
About the Project IMPORTANCE: Interactions between cancer cells and their non-cancerous counterparts play pivotal roles in modulating tumour growth. We now know that cancer cells can compete with and kill neighbouring host cells, and that elimination of ‘normal’ host cells is important to make space for tumour growth.
- Location
- Bristol, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 21 October 2026
- Funding
- Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
University of Bristol
About the Project Colorectal (bowel) cancer (CRC) is the third most diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death globally. This project aims to uncover the driving factors behind the upsurge of colorectal cancer incidence among young adults. CRC is the third most diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death globally. Recent data show increasing incidence among people under 50 years.
- Location
- Bristol, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 21 October 2026
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
De Montfort University
About the Project About the Project This project investigates how extracellular vesicles could support the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia. It focuses on characterising extracellular vesicles from healthy mesenchymal stem cells and refractory acute myeloid leukaemia cells to better understand their molecular markers and functional cargo.
- Location
- Leicester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 30 October 2026
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)
About the Project Our lab decodes and engineers human cell fates using single-cell omics, perturbation screening, and human stem cell models. Who are we looking for? We seek a highly motivated PhD student with a quantitative background and a strong interest in generative modeling of human biology for cell engineering. About us The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) is an international biomedical research institute of excellence, created in July 2000.
- Location
- Barcelona, Spain, Spain
- Deadline
- 22 November 2026
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)
About the Project We investigate how chromatin and epigenetic mechanisms control cell identity and how their dysregulation drives cancer, particularly leukemia and pediatric brain tumors. Who are we looking for? We seek candidates with molecular/cell biology, genomics or computational backgrounds interested in mechanistic and multi-omic approaches to cancer.
- Location
- Barcelona, Spain, Spain
- Deadline
- 22 November 2026
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)
About the Project Single-cell lineage tracing at the scale of human populations. During ageing, some blood stem cell clones expand, increasing the risk of blood cancer and cardiovascular disease. You will use a novel, ultra-scalable single-cell lineage-tracing technology to test whether the functional properties of these clones predict disease risk better than somatic mutations. Who are we looking for?
- Location
- Barcelona, Spain, Spain
- Deadline
- 22 November 2026
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
University of Oxford
About the Project Given the limited availability of clinical trial data and the high prevalence of off-label prescribing in paediatric oncology, real-world data is critical for evaluating the uptake and safety of medicines used in the area. For childhood cancers, treatments are constantly changing and there is a need to learn from real-world use.
- Location
- Oxford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 1 December 2026
- Funding
- Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
University of Oxford
About the Project The generation and propagation of adaptive immune responses are normally confined to secondary lymphoid organs (SLOs), specialised tissues in which complex stromal cell networks coordinate interactions required for effective lymphocyte activation and differentiation. By concentrating rare immune populations within defined anatomical niches, SLOs facilitate efficient immune responses.
- Location
- Oxford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 1 December 2026
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
University of Oxford
About the Project This DPhil project sits at the interface of cancer and cardiovascular immunology, investigating how tumour-driven immune responses reshape systemic immunity and influence vascular inflammation. By integrating approaches across disciplines, it seeks to define how immune activation is coordinated across tissues and how this balance may become disrupted. The findings will provide a foundation for next-generation approaches to disease management.
- Location
- Oxford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 1 December 2026
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
University of Cambridge
About the Project Group Leader: Dr Maria Alcolea ( Alcolea Group ) Keywords: Mutant clonal competition, Early tumorigenesis, Squamous epithelia, Epithelial stem cells, Cell fate Research Summary Epithelial cells have the essential role of protecting us from external aggressions. However, this critical barrier must be able to adapt in order to face changes during developmental tissue formation and wound healing.
- Location
- Cambridge, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 8 December 2026
- Funding
- Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
University of Cambridge
About the Project Group Leader: Professor Walid Khaled ( Khaled Group ) Keywords: Tumour initiation, Cancer Prevention, lineage tracing Research Summary Over the last ten years, Professor Khaled has established an ambitious research programme focusing on studying the early cellular and molecular changes associated with tumour initiation. His lab’s ultimate aim is to translate these discoveries into novel cancer detection and prevention methods.
- Location
- Cambridge, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 8 December 2026
- Funding
- Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
University of Cambridge
About the Project Group Leader: Dr Adam Wilkinson ( Wilkinson Group ) Research Summary Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are critical for human health and disease treatment. HSCs are a rare stem cell population that can generate all the cells of the blood and immune system. Many blood and immune cells are short-lived and must be continuously produced in huge numbers (~2 million per second) throughout our lives.
- Location
- Cambridge, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 8 December 2026
- Funding
- Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
University of Cambridge
About the Project Group Leader: Professor George Vassiliou ( Vassiliou Group ) Keywords: Clonal haematopoiesis, telomeres, leukaemia prevention Research Summary Each day humans produce more than 200 billion mature blood cells from a small number of blood stem cells, also known as haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs).
- Location
- Cambridge, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 8 December 2026
- Funding
- Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
Medical Research Council (Cambridge)
About the Project Our lab focuses on understanding the processes which lead to a reshaping of the nuclear compartment in health and disease. The nucleus is continuously reshaped by the cytoskeletal filaments that surround it. Human cells exploit this (cancer, gametes, mesenchymal, immune) by changing their nuclear-cytoskeletal architecture to suit their function.
- Location
- Cambridge, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 8 December 2026
- Funding
- Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
Cancer Biology
King’s College London
About the Project Prostate cancer remains one of the most common cancers in men, yet accurately predicting which individuals will develop clinically significant disease or experience disease progression remains a major challenge. Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), biomarker discovery, and health data science have created unprecedented opportunities to improve risk stratification and support personalised clinical decision-making.
- Location
- London, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- 15 February 2027
- Funding
- Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)
Cancer Biology
Cardiff University
About the Project The most effective drugs for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) are based on asparaginase (Raja2012). However, in up to 17% of cases, they cause a serious, life-threatening complication - acute pancreatitis (AP), which forces treatment to be stopped. Previously, attempts have been made to mutate asparaginase (Maggi2017); however, these changes so far have not significantly reduced the pathology.
- Location
- Cardiff, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Bradford
About the Project Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) catalyse the oxidation and detoxification of reactive endogenous and exogenous aldehydes into carboxylic acids via NAD+ coupled reduction. ALDH1 has been widely studied and is considered a marker of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and has been shown to be predictive of poor clinical outcome.
- Location
- Bradford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Leicester
About the Project Project: Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecological malignancy in many countries and although it is typically associated with a good long-term outcome the prognosis of metastatic endometrial cancer (EC) is very poor. The complete response rate of advanced/recurrent EC to the current standard of care chemotherapy (carboplatin/paclitaxel) is low, and there are limited new therapies successfully approved for EC.
- Location
- Leicester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Reading
About the Project We are interested in the spread of cancer, a process called metastasis. Metastasis is responsible for the majority of cancer deaths and there are currently no effective treatments to stop this process. Metastasis is a complex process that involves movement of cancer cells away from the primary tumour, spreading through the blood or lymphatic system and then colonising distant sites in the body.
- Location
- Reading, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Sheffield
About the Project The deregulation of cell cycle progression is a common feature of cancer formation and progression. Cell/extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction is widely known to support the progression of the cells through the cell cycle. Recent data from our lab indicate that the internalisation of ECM components is promoted during the G1 phase of the cell cycle and this process is associated with an increased activation of mTOR signalling.
- Location
- Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Sheffield
About the Project Breast and pancreatic tumours are characterised by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, resulting in extensive fibrosis, which in turn promotes tumour progression and metastasis. Our lab has recently demonstrated that cancer cells, but not normal epithelial cells, are able to internalise ECM components, digest them in the lysosomes and use them as energy sources.
- Location
- Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Bradford
About the Project Polysialic acid (polySia) is a carbohydrate polymer important for embryonic development. PolySia is absent in healthy adult tissues whereas overexpressed in several tumours. The high expression of PolySia-NCAM (neuronal cell adhesion molecule) is strongly associated with poor clinical prognosis and several cancers such as lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, neuroblastoma, and gliomas.
- Location
- Bradford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Birmingham
About the Project RNA Pol II transcription and DNA replication are the two essential processes that use the DNA in our cells as a substrate. However, DNA can be engaged only by one of these processes at any given time, and when transcription impairs DNA replication it can induce DNA damage and genome instability. We have shown that transcription activity is transiently reduced to support the replication of genes.
- Location
- Birmingham, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Sheffield
About the Project Development and Testing of Ex-Vivo Human Myeloma Model for Personalised Medicine Applications Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the second most common blood cancer, defined by its dependence on the supportive Bone Marrow Microenvironment (BMME). This niche is a critical barrier, shielding MM cells from treatment and driving disease progression, leading to a poor prognosis.
- Location
- Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Portsmouth
About the Project Applications are invited for a self-funded, 3 year full-time or 6 year part-time PhD project. The PhD will be based in the School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences and will be supervised by Dr Roja Hadianamrei and Dr Sassan Hafizi . The work on this project could involve: Manufacturing different libraries of LNPs and optimising their physicochemical properties.
- Location
- Portsmouth, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Sheffield
About the Project The tumour microenvironment (TME) plays a pivotal role in controlling cancer progression and response to therapy. A key component of the TME is the extracellular matrix (ECM), a complex network of secreted protein involved in controlling a variety of cell functions, including proliferation and migration. Due to the elevated tumour growth rate and limited blood supply, the TME is often hypoxic and nutrient deprived.
- Location
- Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Sheffield
About the Project Mitochondria are not only the powerhouses of the cell but also key regulators of innate immunity, influencing processes such as inflammasome activation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and metabolic reprogramming. NME4, also known as nucleoside diphosphate kinase D (NDPK-D) or NM23-H4, is a mitochondrial enzyme that plays a pivotal role in linking mitochondrial homeostasis to innate immune signalling.
- Location
- Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Bradford
About the Project Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the 3 rd most common cancer worldwide. Surgery is first line treatment and often in adjunct with chemotherapy. However, up to 20% of patients develop recurrent disease after treatment. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is an emerging anti-cancer treatment method, which can substantially improve the outcomes of treatment in CRC.
- Location
- Bradford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Bradford
About the Project Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) are a group of chemicals that can alter the normal functioning of the body’s hormonal system and can have harmful effects. EDCs can also be found in everyday products like food preservatives, plastic packaging, cosmetics, personal care products, fragrances, and pharmaceutical drugs.
- Location
- Bradford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Bradford
About the Project Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the leading cause of mortality in women due to gynaecological cancers. High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) accounts for 70-80% of patients with EOC. Currently, in advanced HGSOC, chemotherapy with Carboplatin and Taxol is the standard treatment following surgery. More recently, chemotherapy in combination with bevacizumab or PARP inhibitors have shown a modest improvement in survival.
- Location
- Bradford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Leicester
About the Project Project: Radiotherapy is an effective form of cancer therapy that targets high energy irradiation to the tumour volume, resulting in destruction of cancer cells and improved survival. The treatment is well tolerated in most patients, but a minority suffer from life-long side effects that reduce quality of life. The side effects include fibrosis and atrophy of the breast, which results in a poor cosmetic outcome and pain.
- Location
- Leicester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Reading
About the Project Project Overview Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and its impact extends beyond the tumour itself. An often overlooked aspect of cancer progression is the disturbance it causes within the vascular system, leading to inflammation and an increased risk of thrombosis (blood clot formation).
- Location
- Reading, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Bradford
About the Project Radiotherapy is a common treatment for cancer, and is used in over 70% of breast cancer patients. However, radiotherapy is associated with longer term vascular damage including atherosclerosis development and fibrosis. Clinically, this can be observed in patients undergoing deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) reconstruction following mastectomy and radiotherapy.
- Location
- Bradford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Leeds
About the Project This project is available immediately to both Home-rated applicants and International applicants who have a sponsor or are able to self-fund their studies. Students must be able to provide the appropriate level of fees based on their fee status plus laboratory consumables costs per year. This is in addition to the provision of personal living expenses.
- Location
- Leeds, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Reading
About the Project Polymer anticancer-drug conjugates are drug delivery systems in which a low molecular weight anticancer agent is covalently conjugated to a water-soluble polymeric carrier.
- Location
- Reading, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Sheffield
About the Project Breast cancer metastasis to the bone represents a critical, incurable clinical challenge characterised by severe tumour growth and immune evasion. Traditional treatments often fail in the "cold," severely low- oxygen (hypoxic) bone niche. This exciting project introduces a pioneering approach to tackling bone metastases: oncolytic virotherapy.
- Location
- Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Liverpool
About the Project This project aspires to make immunotherapy safer and more effective by discovering how SGLT2 inhibitors can simultaneously guard the heart and strengthen antitumour immunity. In revealing these mechanisms, we aim to spark a new era of treatment that delivers deeper impact with fewer risks.
- Location
- Liverpool, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Worcester
About the Project Bladder cancer is the ninth most common malignant disease in the world (Ferlay et al. , 2015). Following removal of diseased tissue, cancer reoccurs in approximately 40% of patients and in 8% it metastasises into other tissues. Since lymph node metastases decrease the chances of long-term survival (Collà Ruvolo et al. , 2021), surgeons often elect to remove lymph nodes at the same time as the tumour.
- Location
- Worcester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Birmingham
About the Project Defective DNA repair is a major driver of genetic instability and cancer development. This PhD project, based in Professor Stewart’s laboratory, will investigate how cells detect and repair DNA damage, and how defects in these processes give rise to human disease.
- Location
- Birmingham, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Limerick
About the Project The School of Medicine at the University of Limerick invites applications for a PhD candidate to investigate the role of tryptophan imbalance in shaping the oncoviral tumour microenvironment and driving epigenetic reprogramming in cancer.
- Location
- Limerick, Ireland, Ireland
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Bradford
About the Project Acquired drug resistance is a considerable problem for the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC), of which oxaliplatin is a key component, with little improvement in the ~65% 5-year survival rate over the past 25 years.
- Location
- Bradford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Sheffield
About the Project Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the seventh most common cancer worldwide, with approximately 800,000 new cases diagnosed annually. Recurrence rates remain as high as 50% despite aggressive multimodal therapy. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has transformed outcomes for some HNSCC patients; however, its efficacy is disproportionately confined to HPV-positive disease.
- Location
- Sheffield, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Worcester
About the Project The BCAT1 gene is implicated in the pathogenesis of many cancer types, including acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)1–4. Recently, our group identified a novel antioxidant role for BCAT1 in AML cells5. We demonstrated that BCAT1 was able to protect AML cells from damaging effects mediated by oxidative stress, keeping the AML cells in a tumorigenic state.
- Location
- Worcester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Birmingham
About the Project The incidence of head and neck cancer (HNC) is on the rise globally. Despite advances in HNC treatment and diagnosis, the mortality rate is high. This is mainly attributed to late diagnosis of established malignancies and the absence of reliable biomarkers for predicting malignant transformation in oral potentially malignant disorders, which carry a higher risk of malignant transformation.
- Location
- Birmingham, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Bradford
About the Project Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a type of blood cancer where the patients do not have enough healthy blood cells. It is the most common adult myeloid malignancy in the UK and has been estimated that around 8,000 and 40,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the UK and USA, respectively.[1] MDS are a heterogeneous group of clonal haematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized by peripheral blood cytopenias and progenitor expansion.
- Location
- Bradford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Leeds
About the Project The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology invites applications from prospective postgraduate researchers who wish to commence study for a PhD in the academic year 2025/26. We especially welcome applications that connect to the School's core research areas, which are understanding life in molecular detail, with particular relevance to infectious diseases and cancers.
- Location
- Leeds, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only
Cancer Biology
University of Leicester
About the Project Project Summary Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-1 and PD-L1 have transformed the therapeutic landscape for several solid cancers. Despite these advances, only a minority of patients experience durable clinical benefit. Both primary and acquired resistance remains a major barrier to effective treatment, and the underlying biological determinants are not yet fully understood.
- Location
- Leicester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- Deadline
- Year-round applications
- Funding
- Self-Funded PhD Students Only