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LIDo DTP PhD studentships

Three four-year funded studentships are available for new full-time MPhil/PhD students applying to the following programmes:

  • MPhil/PhD Biology
  • MPhil/PhD Psychology

These studentships will be part of the BBSRC LIDo DTP and start in September 2024.

PROJECT DETAILS

  • We are seeking to recruit three students to Birkbeck's Faculty of Science. Successful applicants will be part of the LIDo-DTP and benefit from being part of a large and diverse student cohort, LIDo’s training courses and a funded professional internship during the PhD. The LIDo programme seeks students with a strong interest in interdisciplinary research from a wide range of scientific backgrounds who are interested to study for a PhD in an area within the research remit of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Birkbeck has particular research strengths in structural biology, developmental psychology, brain imaging, mechanisms of infectious diseases, modelling of cognitive processes and bioinformatics, and consequently seeks applicants with an interest in one or more of these areas. We are seeking applicants with interdisciplinary potential not necessarily specific prior experience and successful LIDo applicants  come from a wide range of previous subject backgrounds across biological, physical, computational, psychological and mathematical sciences. 
  • Successful applicants will be based at Birkbeck, and, together with students based at the other LIDo Partners (UCL, KCL, QMUL, RVC, LSHTM, NRI, RHUL), will be a part of one of the largest PhD training cohorts in the United Kingdom. Lido operates a programme based on taking two distinct rotation projects in Year 1, then towards the end of that year, choosing one of the rotations to continue as a PhD project for the remainder of the four years. The studentships offered are funded by Birkbeck, and students will take their rotation and PhD projects at Birkbeck. All Lido projects have at least two supervisors from different research areas in order to provide the breadth of experience needed to pursue interdisciplinary projects. Most projects offered at Birkbeck have co-supervisors at other LIDo institutions bringing a wider experience of other research environments to the student. 

FUNDING DETAILS

  • Applications are open to UK, (pre)settled EU and international applicants. Selection is on merit and for interdisciplinary research potential. In correspondence with UKRI practice, a maximum of one of the three studentships will be awarded to an international applicant. Studentships are funded at UKRI standard rates for London i.e. a stipend of £21,237/annum (in 2024/25) and all Birkbeck fees are paid by the studentship.
  • International applicants should, however, be aware of the additional personal travel, visa and health charge costs associated with taking up an offer of a studentship in the UK and have appropriate separate funding to cover those costs.

HOW TO APPLY

  • Candidates should submit an online application for the MPhil/PhD Biology or MPhil/PhD Psychology programme, starting in the 2024/25 academic year. 
  • When completing the online application form, you will be asked whether you would like to be considered for a funding scheme. Please ensure that you answer ‘yes’ to this question, and specify ‘LIDo DTP Studentship’. Applications that do not include this detail may not be received. 
  • Because the PhD project is not determined until later, applicants should complete the 'project proposal' section with their Personal Statement, as per the application guidelines below.

DEADLINE

  • Closing date: 25 July 2024
  • Interview date: 30-31 July 2024
  • All interviews will be held online via MS Teams. 

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

  • Via the application portal: you should attach a CV and a separate Personal Statement divided into the following three sections.
  • Previous research experience (max. 800 words)
    • Please describe one or two previous research projects in which you have been involved. If you only have one substantive previous experience that is fine.
    • The project details should include your research aims and hypothesis with some context - was it addressing an outstanding question, was it improving current knowledge/techniques etc. Provide details of the techniques you used and what they were used for. Also provide details of whether you were working alone or as part of a team and what your specific intellectual and practical contributions were.
    • For each project describe your key findings and the implications of the results. If you weren’t able to achieve your research aims, what were the limitations of the study and how could you address this in future work if you continued working on it? If it was a literature review, did you identify gaps in the literature where further research is required? What were your personal outcomes – did you gain confidence with a particular technique or another skill that will be useful for doing a PhD.
  • Interdisciplinarity (max. 500 words)
    • This should provide some examples of working outside of your primary discipline. For biologists this may be mathematical or computing skills acquired in high school or undergraduate modules. For physical scientists this may be high school or undergraduate biology or medical options, work experience etc. Highlight any interdisciplinary aspects of you research experience in the previous section (if any). Explain what you would hope to learn and achieve by working on interdisciplinary projects.
  • Motivation and Interests (max. 500 words)
    • Please tell us why you are applying to Birkbeck, why you would like to join the LIDo programme, and why the programme represents a good fit for you. Demonstrate your interest in research and the LIDo programme itself. Think about the unique aspects of the LIDo programme that interest you. Tell us why you would make a strong PhD candidate. Other than your qualifications, what qualities do you think a PhD candidate needs? Give examples of your experience that demonstrate these qualities. What research areas or ideas are you excited to explore. How will your current experience and skill set assist you with this? Don’t be too general – try to express specific interests that fall within the BBSRC remit. You may also wish to mention any personal challenges you have faced during your professional or academic experience, and how you have overcome or adapted to these.

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