Bioscience and environmental science at Birkbeck given government boost

Two new Doctoral Landscape Awards (DLA) for the training of PhD students have been awarded to a consortium of institutions within the University of London.  

The Training Research and Equity in Environmental Sciences (TREES) programme has been awarded £8M from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to support 65 environmental science PhD students over the next five years.  

The London Interdisciplinary Doctoral training consortium in the Biosciences (LIDo) was awarded £16M from the Biotechnology and Biosciences research Council (BBSRC) to support 130 PhD bioscientists over the same period.  

Together and with additional funding from the consortia partners, there will be more than 280 new places for PhD students across the collaborating institutions.  

The TREES Doctoral Award is a partnership of 10 academic institutions and aims to address critical environmental challenges and have a strong commitment to improving inclusivity and diversity in Earth and environmental science.  

Birkbeck leads for TREES, Professor James Hammond, Dr Eleanor Jennings and Dr Stefan Engels, commented: 

“We are very proud that Birkbeck has joined with other institutes across London such as UCL, Natural history Museum, King’s College London, London Zoo and Kew Gardens to develop a unique PhD training program. We are excited to work with future researchers on some of the most urgent global challenges including climate change, earthquake hazards, environmental change and biodiversity. It’s fantastic that Birkbeck and its partners’ strengths in interdisciplinary environmental sciences have been recognised through the TREES Doctoral Landscape Award. 

“This substantial funding highlights the critical importance of preparing the next generation of researchers to tackle urgent global issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem resilience. 

“Through TREES, students will be equipped to create innovative, cross-disciplinary solutions while building meaningful partnerships with more than 80 external collaborators, including NGOs, charities, industry leaders, and public sector organisations.” 

The LIDo consortium has been training PhD students since 2012. The renewed funding will foster new collaborations across the industrial, public and charity sectors in addition to the core purpose of funding PhDs to tackle a broad range of problems across the biosciences through combined use of experimental and computational approaches including artificial intelligence and computer simulation. 

Birkbeck Lead and current Chair of LIDo, Dr Mark Williams, from Birkbeck’s School of Natural Sciences commented: 

“All of the LIDo partners are delighted that the government is continuing to support us to work together to train the next generation of bio-scientists for a digitally augmented future. This award allows us to build on LIDo’s past success which has seen more than 370 students graduate since we began. 

“LIDo students are enabled to tackle important, complex problems by combining the expertise and specialist facilities of the partner organisations. Notably, Birkbeck has particular strengths in biological research in the study of the three-dimensional structure of biological molecules and in cognitive development, with the BabyLab and ToddlerLab being world-leading centres. Joint research activities are already happening or being developed for this new award across many areas of biological research in the Schools of Natural Sciences, Psychological Sciences and Computing and Mathematical Sciences.” 

Both programmes were awarded funding following a national competition for 2024 Doctoral Landscape Awards, led by the BBSRC and NERC within UKRI. In total, BBSRC and NERC are investing £293 million in more than 2,300 studentships over five years, while the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council are investing £279 million in university doctoral landscape awards over the same period. 

Both LIDo and TREES are now accepting applications for PhD studentships starting in autumn 2025. 

Member of Parliament and Secretary of State for Science and Technology, Peter Kyle, said: 

“Backing the next generation of great scientific minds to fulfil their potential is crucial to unlocking the discoveries which improve our lives and which keep our economy growing over the long term through highly skilled jobs. 

“This £500m investment will back our vitally important higher education sector while supporting more bright students to pursue their talents and in turn deliver the life-saving drugs and clean energy alternatives of the future, that benefit all of our lives.” 

UKRI Chief Executive, Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, commented: 

“UKRI’s investments in doctoral training are pivotal for the UK’s research and innovation endeavour. The awards provide funding for universities across the UK to nurture a cadre of creative, talented people to develop their skills and knowledge, to build partnerships and networks, and to pursue the discoveries that will transform tomorrow, with diverse benefits for society and economic growth.” 

TREES is a partnership including Birkbeck, Brunel, King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London, the Natural History Museum, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Royal Holloway, University of London, University of Portsmouth, ZSL Institute of Zoology and is led by University College London. 

LIDo is a partnership of eight London universities: Birkbeck, the University of Greenwich's Natural Resources Institute, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London, Royal Holloway, University of London, the Royal Veterinary College and is led by University College London, together with non-university partners including Unilever, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the Natural History Museum, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Food Standards Agency, Discovery Park, and the Alan Turing Institute who enhance the range and impact of our research and training.  

To ensure that all talented and qualified students can access such opportunities regardless of socio-economic or demographic background, LIDo has also initiated new collaborations with widening participation organisations Leading Routes, In2ScienceUK, The Cowrie Scholarship Foundation, and Martingale Foundation. Joint activities will continuously nurture a diverse talent pipeline from Year 12 to PhD.