This is an exciting time of the year for The Institute of Cancer Research.
Aspiring scientists come from all over the world to do a PhD with us here in London, and we are currently recruiting for a range of fully funded four-year PhD studentships. This is a fantastic opportunity for recent or final-year undergraduates, or Masters graduates to move into a career at the cutting edge of cancer research.
We’re looking for the best and brightest - people who are passionate about science and who believe they could contribute to fields across cancer research, from cancer biology to medicinal chemistry to computational physics.
Here at the ICR our PhD students are an integral part of our research teams. We don’t expect them to sit in lecture theatres – instead, we train, enable and guide them to carry out cutting-edge research to make their own discoveries, and to help us defeat cancer.
Studying at the ICR is an exacting, rigorous process, but if you are selected then you undertake a world-class, four-year research training programme in one of the eight research divisions at the ICR, under the guidance of leading experts in their field.
Like all of our scientists, PhD students at the ICR benefit from all that our dedicated research sites at Chelsea and Sutton in London have to offer – working in a unique multidisciplinary environment alongside world leaders in cancer research and clinicians from The Royal Marsden, and with access to state-of-the-art facilities and the support of expert technical staff.
The ICR is a fantastic place to study for international students. Over half of our researchers come to the ICR from outside the UK, while international students make up almost half of our PhDs. Our fully funded studentships cover tuition fees (whether UK, European or international), a generous stipend for living costs and all laboratory costs.
Henry Tsang is one of our international students - he moved from Hong Kong to study at Imperial College London, before joining the ICR to do a PhD in medical physics, looking at novel ways of planning radiotherapy. He explained to me that the ICR’s international reputation wasn’t the only reason for joining the ICR:
“The ICR attracts the brightest minds across the world so I feel very lucky to be studying here. People are very friendly and the ICR has a lot of resources for new students. In my first year as a PhD student I have attended numerous courses hosted by the ICR as well as a course organised by the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology in Budapest. My supervisory team has an open-door policy as well, so I have always had someone to turn to when I need help.”
Lena Perraki is a second-year PhD student from Greece and she is researching ways to characterise genetic susceptibility to male breast cancer. She believes that studying at the ICR will help her to pursue a career in research after her PhD:
“The ICR is a great place to study because it is one of the leading institutions for cancer research, and a lot of high-impact research is conducted here. I like the fact that it’s not a traditional university but an institute and a very demanding place to work, so I don’t really feel like a student here.
“The ICR provides many different courses and training opportunities, and makes my life easy when it comes to securing things like lab equipment. There is the opportunity to go to conferences and present my work, and we also have an active student committee which is involved in decisions regarding the students and student life at the ICR.”
If you are interested in studying at the ICR, click here to see the projects we have on offer - application forms and full eligibility criteria are available on the Application Information page.
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