No further applications are being accepted for this course.

About the courses

Above: The PhD programme has been constructed using a 'wedge model' which ensures that the amount of time spent on laboratory research relative to taught modules steadily increases as you progress into your 3rd and 4th years.

The novel approach of the DTC is reflected in the course structure. Firstly, these are four year PhD's, with full support grant funding available through the entire course for qualifying students (see eligibility criteria). The courses include a substantial taught component in the early years, designed to provide a biological background equivalent to a full-taught MSc to equip you for research at the life sciences interface.

These degrees give you more control over your studentship than is usual in a PhD programme. Although you may already have an interest in working with a particular research group, you do not need to make a final choice of project until the start of the 2nd semester of the 1st year.

You also have control over the taught elements of the course, with the ability to select modules to tailor the material to meet the needs of your research.

Supervision

All research projects are co-supervised across physical science/engineering and life science departments within Sheffield and Leeds Universities.

Students can choose to register with either Sheffield or Leeds as their 'home' university and will register as a visiting student in the non-home university. The 'home' university can be changed at a later date if necessary (for example, if a project is chosen which involves spending more time at the visited university than the home university).

Right: The way a protein folds determines its biological effectiveness. Modified AFM techniques are being developed to measure the strength of interaction between strands of a protein directly, as in this study on the protein L (inset bottom left).
From: "Mechanically unfolding the small, topologically simple protein L" by Brockwell, DJ, Beddard, GS, Paci, E, West, DK, Olmsted, PD, Smith, DA, and Radford, SE; Biophysical Journal 89 (2005) 506–519.

The range of research projects available

A wide range of experimental and theoretical projects are available, covering topics from single biomolecules to tissue properties. Industrially-linked studentships are also available. For the 2007 projects list, please see the file linked below:

2008 projects list.
(PDF, 183kB)