iCASE 2025
Oxford-MRC DTP iCASE 2025 Projects
MRC ENTERPRISE STUDENTSHIP PROGRAMME 2025 (INDUSTRIAL CASE AWARDS)
Eight industrial CASE (iCASE) studentships are available for doctoral study at Oxford, to start in October 2025.
Designed to nurture the academic entrepreneurs of the future, the Enterprise studentship programme offers a stimulating educational experience as part of the Oxford-MRC DTP cohort, with the additional benefit of working closely with an industrial partner. This will provide entrepreneurial training opportunities and an insight into how commercial science is conducted alongside a superb academic base within the University. Students will work for at least 3 months in the associated company.
ELIGIBILITY
They are open to both UK and non-UK nationals and will follow the UKRI student eligibility requirements. UKRI will normally limit the proportion of international students appointed each year through individual training grants to 30% of the total intake each year.
FUNDING PACKAGE
Each iCASE studentship is fully-funded - it includes four years of stipend at the UKRI stipend level + £2,500 p.a., course fees (including overseas fees if applicable), and a generous research training support grant.
APPLICATIONS DEADLINE
Applications must be received by 12 noon (UK time) Tuesday 3 December 2024. Details on entry requirements and how to apply can be found below.
PROJECTS
The projects available are:
Lead supervisor: Prof. Simon Newstead
Commercial partner: Iceni Glycoscience
2. Developing hardware and software to improve Magnetic Resonance Neuroimaging
Lead supervisor: Dr James Grist
Commercial partner: GE Healthcare
3. Understanding the effects of combined immune checkpoint inhibition through space and time
Lead supervisor: Prof. David Withers
Commercial partner: AstraZeneca
4. Combating memory decline during sleep
Lead supervisor: Prof. Bernhard Staresina
Commercial partner: Clarity Technologies
Lead supervisor: Dr Catia Nicodemo
Commercial partner: EMIS
Lead supervisor: Dr Alexander Davies
Commercial partner: Elasmogen Limited
7. Immunogenic response to anti-TNF therapeutics: defining the role of protein glycosylation
Lead supervisor: Prof. Jack Satsangi
Commercial partner: Ludger Ltd
8. Advancing diagnostics for precision medicine in severe infection
Lead supervisor: Prof. Julian Knight
Commercial partner: Danaher
Lead supervisors: Prof. Paolo Tammaro and Prof. Fran Platt
Commercial partner: Autifony Therapeutics
Lead supervisor: Prof. Eric O'Neill
Commercial partner: Hertility health
11. Defining MR1-ligand expression in human and mouse tissues
Lead supervisor: Prof. Paul Klenerman
Commercial partner: Immunocore
Lead supervisor: Dr Ivan Koychev
Commercial partner: CFDX Ltd
Lead supervisor: Dr Seth Flaxman
Commercial partner: IDEMS International Community Interest Company: Innovations in Development, Education and the Mathematical Sciences
Lead supervisor: Prof. Anita Milicic
Commercial partner: iuvantium
Lead supervisor: Prof. Cathy Creswell
Commercial partner: Koa Health
Lead supervisor: Prof. Blanca Rodriguez
Commercial partner: AstraZeneca
Lead supervisor: Prof. Matthew Wood
Commercial partner: ATDBio Ltd
Lead supervisors: Prof. Paolo Tammaro, Prof. Phil Biggin and Prof. Ming Lei
Commercial partner: Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford (NNRCO)
Lead supervisor: Dr Michael Pavlides
Commercial partner: Perspectum Ltd
20. Rapid MRI scanning for population-level neuroimaging
Lead supervisor: Prof. Aaron T. Hess
Commercial partner: Siemens Healthineers
21. Improving TMS-EEG acquisition for clinical populations
Lead supervisor: Prof. Charlotte Stagg
Commercial partner: Welcony (Magstim Company Ltd and MagstimEGI)
22. Develop synthetic extracellular matrix for engineering defined 3D human neural tissue
Lead supervisor: Prof. Hagan Bayley
Commercial partner: PeptiMatrix
23. The discovery of robust septin binders to validate their potential as a future drug target
Lead supervisor: Prof. Matthew Fuchter
Commercial partner: Jazz Pharmaceuticals
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Within equal opportunities principles and legislation, applications will be assessed in the light of an applicant’s ability to meet the following entry requirements:
1. Academic ability
Proven and potential academic achievements
Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in a relevant discipline such as biology, biochemistry, or medicine (other disciplines might also be relevant for projects hosted by MPLS departments). However, entrance is very competitive and most successful applicants have a first-class degree or the equivalent.
A previous master's degree is not required.
No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.
Other appropriate indicators will include:
Supporting documents
You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application, including references and an official transcript. See 'How to apply' for instructions on the documents you will need.
Performance at interview
Interviews are normally held as part of the admissions/funding allocation process.
Candidates who are shortlisted are interviewed as part of the admissions process. Shortlisting will be based on the criteria given above. There will be a minimum of three academics on the interview panel. Interviews will be conducted virtually this year. Normally, the interviews will run for 25 minutes in a question and answer format.
Publications
Prior publications are not required, but research experience and a demonstrable interest in the commercialisation of research may be an advantage.
Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience
Evidence of a prior interest in the area of research proposed is likely to advantage your application.
2. English language requirement
Applicants whose first language is not English are usually required to provide evidence of proficiency in English at the standard level required by the University.
3. Disability, health conditions and specific learning difficulties
Students are selected for admission without regard to gender, marital or civil partnership status, disability, race, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or social background.
Decisions on admission are based solely on the individual academic merits of each candidate and the application of the entry requirements appropriate to the course.
Further information on how these matters are supported during the admissions process is available in our guidance for applicants with disabilities.
4. Assessors
All recommendations to admit a student involve the judgment of at least two members of academic staff with relevant experience and expertise, and additionally must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or Admissions Committee (or equivalent departmental persons or bodies).
Admissions panels or committees will always include at least one member of academic staff who has undertaken appropriate training.
It would be expected that graduate applicants would be familiar with the recent published work of their proposed supervisor.
HOW TO APPLY
Before applying for these positions we recommend you contact the lead supervisors for informal discussions.
To make a formal application, please complete the University’s online application form for the DPhil course specific to the department hosting the iCASE project you are interested in. Please indicate the iCASE project clearly by inserting ‘iCASE’ before the project title and by using the reference code iCASE. You will need to provide a personal statement (500 words max if applying for a project hosted by one of Medical Sciences departments - please note that this limit might be different if a project is hosted by one of MPLS departments in which case follow their requirement) detailing your interest and fit for the studentship. Note that no project proposal is required for the iCASE studentship applications.
If you wish to apply for a combination of iCASE and other projects within the hosting department, this can be done on the same application form (max number of projects you can apply for on one application depends on the department you wish to apply to). If you wish to apply for iCASE projects within different departments, you will have to make separate applications directly through those departments.
If you have any specific queries about the iCASE application process, please email mrc@medsci.ox.ac.uk. General advice on how to pick a graduate advisor (supervisor) and how to choose a scientific problem can be found in these two articles:
- Ben Barres, 2013, How to pick a graduate advisor, Neuron.
- Uri Alon, 2009, How to choose a good scientific problem, Mol Cell.
All applications must be received by the deadline of 12 noon (UK time) Tuesday 3 December 2024.
We expect to interview shortlisted applicants in January/February and to make funding offers by the end of February.
