iCASE 2022
MRC ENTERPRISE STUDENTSHIP PROGRAMME 2022 (INDUSTRIAL CASE AWARDS)
Eight industrial CASE (iCASE) studentships are available for doctoral study at Oxford, to start in October 2022. Each iCASE studentship is fully-funded for four years with a stipend of the UKRI stipend level + £2,500 p.a., all course fees paid, plus a research training support grant. Applications must be received by 12 noon (UK time) Friday 3 December 2021. Details on how to apply can be found below.
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.
projects
The projects available are:
1. Characterisation and treatment of patient iPSC-derived retinal organoids as an in vitro model of inherited retinal disease
Lead supervisor: Prof Robert E MacLaren; commercial partner: Newcells Biotech
2. Leveraging real world data to characterise the long term impact of COVID-19
Lead supervisor: Prof Daniel Prieto-Alhambra; commercial partner: Bayer
3. Improving Rational Drug Design for Membrane Targets with AI and Advanced Simulation
Lead supervisor: Prof Philip Biggin; commercial partner: Vertex Pharmaceuticals
4. Optimising Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for treatment of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders
Lead supervisor: Prof Timothy Denison; commercial partner: Magstim Company Ltd
5. Locating protein-bound metal ions to accelerate drug design and discovery
Lead supervisor: Prof Peter McHugh; commercial partner: Johnson Matthey
6. A clinically relevant musculoskeletal humanoid shoulder for biomedical applications
Lead supervisor: Prof Pierre-Alexis Mouthuy; commercial partner: Devanthro GmbH
7. How does tumour metabolism affect the efficacy of DNA damage response inhibitors?
Lead supervisor: Prof Geoff Higgins; commercial partner: Artios Pharma Ltd
8. Noise reduction using deep learning for quantitative SPECT reconstruction to personalise molecular radiotherapy treatments
Lead supervisor: Prof Geoff Higgins; commercial partner: Hermes Medical Solutions Ltd
9. Development of a bioelectronic system for applying chronobiology to improve the treatment of neurological disorders
Lead supervisor: Prof Timothy Denison and Prof Colin Espie; commercial partner: Bioinduction Ltd
Lead supervisors: Prof Philip Clarke; commercial partner: Health Economics & Outcomes Research (HEOR) Ltd
11. Digital solutions for social isolation: using user-centred co-design to extend uptake and use of communication technology in digitally excluded groups
Lead supervisor: Prof Trisha Greenhalgh; commercial partner: No Isolation Ltd
Lead supervisor: Prof Stefan K. Piechnik; commercial partner: General Electric Healthcare (GEHC)
13. Autonomous design of chemical probes by exploiting robotic chemistry, high throughput structural biology and sensor-based biophysics
Lead supervisor: Prof Frank von Delft; commercial partner: PostEra Ltd
14. Targeting Fibroblast – Macrophage Cross Talk in Human Inflammatory and Tumour Pathology
Lead supervisor: Prof Mark Coles; commercial partner: Mestag Therapeutics Limited
Lead supervisor: Prof Hannah Smithson; commercial partner: Imagine Eyes
Lead supervisor: Prof Fergus Gleeson; commercial partner: GE Healthcare
17. Inhibiting the DNA damage response in mitosis to kill BRCA1/2-deficient cancer cells
Lead supervisor: Dr Andrew Blackford; commercial partner: AstraZeneca
Lead supervisor: Prof Manuela Zaccolo; commercial partner: InoCardia, Ltd
Lead supervisor: Prof Leanne Hodson; commercial partner: Ochre Bio
20. Non-invasive phenotyping of muscle function using multi-nuclear MR
Lead supervisor: Dr Ladislav Valkovič; commercial partner: RAPID Biomedical GmbH
21. Immune Modulation by ITIM Receptor Targeting
Lead supervisor: Dr Ricardo A. Fernandes; commercial partner: MiroBio
22. Sensory ganglia organoids to dissect chronic pain mechanisms
Lead supervisor: Dr Zameel Cader; commercial partner: Eli Lilly
23. Mechanistic modelling of multitargeted therapeutics
Lead supervisor: Prof Eric O’Neill; commercial partner: EPICOMBI.ai
Lead supervisor: Prof Jane Hirst; commercial partner: Sensyne Health
Lead supervisor: Prof Stavros Petrou; commercial partner: EMIS Group PLC
26. CARTOGRAPHY – The human transcription factor landscape at single cell resolution
Lead supervisor: Prof Holm Uhlig; commercial partner: Janssen R&D
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. 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 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 interview will consist of a five-minute presentation of previous project work by the applicant, followed by 15-25 minutes of questioning from the panel.
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.
ELIGIBILITY
Applicants who are offered iCASE places will be provided with a funding package that will include fees at the Home rate for the duration of fee liability, and a stipend for four years. NB Overseas applicants are liable for fees at a different rate, therefore an additional source of funding will be required to cover the full cost of fees.
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 CV outlining your academic achievements and relevant experience, and a personal statement (500 words max) 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) Friday 3 December 2021.
We expect to interview shortlisted applicants in January and to make funding offers by the end of February.
