Research profile
Our academics are internationally renowned scientists in their fields of expertise and are involved in making major advances and breakthroughs in human diseases and syndromes, including breast, prostate and skin cancer, leukaemia, progeria (premature ageing), tuberculosis, malaria, aspergillus infection, trinucleotide repeat diseases and normal ageing.
Our academics are also involved in the development of 21st-century treatments for disease, such as novel vaccines; stem cell, gene and antibody therapies; novel drug development; artificial biomaterials and, with advancing mechanistic understanding of cell and molecular biological processes.
Biosciences at Brunel offer a research environment with projects at the cutting edge of modern biomedical research. Our research is internationally regarded and offers talented researchers the opportunity to work in a range of specialist areas including Nuclear & Genome Organisation, Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis & Therapeutics, Genetic Disease, Ageing, Immunology & Infection, Radiobiology and Endocrinology.
We have extensive state-of-the-art research laboratories, including a bioimaging suite, that houses specialist technology for 2/3/4D imaging from the single-cell level to the whole organism, and a containment level 3 laboratory for research on tuberculosis.
Find out about the exciting research we do in this area. Browse profiles of our experts, discover the research within the Centre for Genome Engineering and Maintenance and Centre for Inflammation Research and Translational Medicine and, their inspirational research activities you too could be part of.
As a member of the Division of Biosciences you will:
- Join an internationally recognised environment for research excellence
- Be part of an expert community that publishes world-leading research and work with scientists who are leaders in their respective fields
- Enjoy being part of a well-resourced, collegial research environment - all our research students are based in our dedicated postgraduate study rooms alongside academic staff offices and play a full part in the activities of the Division.
Browse the work of subject-relevant research groups
You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.
Find a supervisor
Our researchers create knowledge and advance understanding, and equip versatile doctoral researchers with the confidence to apply what they have learnt for the benefit of society. Find out more about working with the Supervisory Team.
You are welcome to approach your potential supervisor directly to discuss your research interests. Search for expert supervisors for your chosen field of research.
PhD topics
While we welcome applications from students with a clear direction for their research, we are providing you with some ideas for your chosen field of research:
- Developing RAC1B-targeting therapies to improve the treatment outcomes for breast cancer, supervised by Ahmet Ucar
- Development of a miniature capsule robot for capsule endoscopy, supervised by Md Nazmul Huda
- Development of a novel PCR-based assay to evaluate CAR-T safety using a human-based genotoxicity model, supervised by Michael Themis
- Elucidating the mechanisms of early-stage breast cancer initiation, supervised by Ahmet Ucar
- Health data analysis to identify the role of gene and environment in risk of cardiovascular diseases, supervised by Raha Pazoki
- Hypoxia-driven macrophage modulation in cancer and its impact on T cell immunotherapy, supervised by Doreen Lau
- Identification of determinants of sudden cardiac death and arrhythmias using population studies, supervised by Raha Pazoki
- Individual histone modification roles in regulation of transcription and cell decision-making, supervised by Cristina Correia Antunes Pina
- Multi-omics data analysis for critical disease prediction, supervised by Yang Yang
- The role of PE/PPE proteins in tuberculosis, supervised by Anthony Tsolaki
Research journey
This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.
Find out about what progress might look like at each stage of study here: Research degree progress structure.
Research support
Research support
Excellent research support and training
The Graduate School provides a range of personal, professional and career development opportunities. This includes workshops, online training, coaching and events, to enable you to enhance your professional profile, refine your skills, and plan your next career steps as part of the Researcher Development Programme. The researcher development programme (RDP) offers workshops and seminars in a range of areas including progression, research management, research dissemination, and careers and personal development. You will also be offered a number of online, self-study courses on BBL, including Research Integrity, Research Skills Toolkit, Research Methods in Literature Review and Principles of Research Methods.
Library services
Brunel's Library is open 24 hours a day, has 400,000 books and 250,000 ebooks, and an annual budget of almost £2m. Subject information Specialists train students in the latest technology, digital literacy, and digital dissemination of scholarly outputs. As well as the physical resources available in the Library, we also provide access to a wealth of electronic resources. These include databases, journals and e-books. Access to these resources has been bought by the Library through subscription and is limited to current staff and students.
Dedicated research support staff provide guidance and training on open access, research data management, copyright and other research integrity issues.
Find out more: Brunel Library
A training programme will be provided by the College to assist students with achieving targets. The programme will include the underpinning principles such as philosophy of science, research integrity, ethics and specialist methodology. Sessions in core, specialist and advanced research methods will prepare students for an independent research career.
Careers and your future
You will receive tailored careers support during your PhD and for up to three years after you complete your research at Brunel. We encourage you to actively engage in career planning and managing your personal development right from the start of your research, even (or perhaps especially) if you don't yet have a career path in mind. Our careers provision includes online information and advice, one-to-one consultations and a range of events and workshops. The Professional Development Centre runs a varied programme of careers events throughout the academic year. These include industry insight sessions, recruitment fairs, employer pop-ups and skills workshops.
In addition, where available, you may be able to undertake some paid work as we recognise that teaching and learning support duties represent an important professional and career development opportunity.
Following the completion of the course students may follow several career paths:
- Research within academia which may lead to the career path of a University Lecturer
- Career progression within the bio-pharmaceutical sector including project management and above
- A career path within government agencies (e.g. Department of Health, Public Health England) or international agencies (UN, WHO, IAEA etc.)
- Career path within NHS including specialist research laboratories.
Career progression within specialist research institutes commencing as a post-doc researcher and progressing to senior researcher.
UK entry requirements
The general University entrance requirement for registration for a research degree is normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (1st or 2:1).
An interview will be required as part of the admissions process and will be conducted by at least two academic staff members remotely via MS Teams, Zoom, or face to face.
Applicants will be required to submit a personal statement and a research statement.
Please contact your proposed supervisor, where possible, to receive feedback and guidance on your research statement before submitting it. Learn how to prepare a research statement here.
EU and International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
- IELTS: 7 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 64 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 68% (58% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 98 overall (min 20)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2024/5 entry
International
£23,615 full-time
£11,805 part-time
UK
£4,786 full-time
£2,393 part-time
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
Some courses incur additional course related costs. You can also check our on-campus accommodation costs for more information on living expenses.
Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. Recently the UK Government made available the Doctoral Student Loans of up to £25,000 for UK and EU students and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.
