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Medical Sciences and MPLS celebrate successful bids for Wellcome Trust PhD programmes

Three new funded schemes from the Medical Science Division and MPLS Division have been awarded a four-year PhD programmes in science by the Wellcome Trust.

These will provide funding for DPhil (PhD) programmes that offer graduates outstanding training in scientific research.

The successful bids within Medical Sciences were:

  • Genomic Medicine and Statistics, led by Julian Knight, John Todd and Catherine Green
  • Cellular Structural Biology, led by Matthew Higgins, Yvonne Jones, James Naismith and Martin Walsh

The successful bid within MPLS was:

  • Chemistry in Cells, led by Stuart Conway, Akane Kawamura, Frances Platt and Angela Russell

There was an additional successful bid in Health Data Science, led by Peter Diggle from Lancaster with Chris Holmes from University of Oxford.

Professor Robert Gilbert, Director of the Graduate School and the Medical Sciences Doctoral Training Centre which supports Oxford's Wellcome Trust doctoral funding, said: 'Graduate research students are fundamental to the current and future success of the University of Oxford. The funding of three Wellcome Trust awards at Oxford for 2020-2025, alongside the multi-centre Health Data Science programme in which we are partners, enables us to continue to support world-leading research at doctoral level, and will help us to ensure all our graduate students enjoy excellent welfare support and a positive working environment.'

'We are delighted that the Wellcome Trust has supported our Programme, which will catalyse the application of cutting-edge chemistry and physical science techniques to solve important biomedical problems,' commented Professor Stuart Conway, Department of Chemistry.

'There has never been a more exciting time to study Structural Biology, with new technologies transforming what we can see and understand. We are very grateful for this chance to recruit a diverse group of students with outstanding potential to become the structural biologists of the future,' said Professor Matt Higgins, from the Cellular Structural Biology program.

'We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Wellcome to deliver the highest quality training for our students to be future leaders in their chosen fields where they can help realise the potential of genomics to advance our understanding of biology and improve patient care,' added Professor Julian Knight, Nuffield Department of Medicine.

'These awards demonstrate the multi- and inter-disciplinary nature of biomedicine, with successful bids led by the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics/Nuffield Department of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Department of Chemistry; and drawing in partner organisations such as Diamond Light Source, the Rosalind Franklin Institute and a significant number of industrial links. All three programmes, and the Health Data Science award, will draw supervisors from both the Medical and the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences divisions of the University and build on the strong research and collaborative links that operate across Oxford's scientific community,' Professor Gilbert added.

'We are committed to ensuring that these programmes contribute to widened participation in graduate research, as reflected in the UNIQ+ Graduate Access Programme in which all will participate by funding internships each Summer alongside Wellcome's own Biomedical Vacation Scholarships.'