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PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy
Liverpool Campus
Full Time
Dec 2026
3 Year
Undertake research that offers the opportunity to make significant impact on strategies to detect and treat cancer in our Surgery and Oncology programme. You’ll examine the application of molecular and/or computational approaches to the study of cancer mechanisms and explore treatment strategies that impact upon medicine and ultimately patient outcomes.IntroductionThe Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology (ISMIB) was established to integrate cutting-edge basic research with clinical research from across the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. Programmes of work across ISMIB are varied and are led by world experts in their field.Scientific research in the Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine is performed in an environment that has a wealth of clinical expertise and research. This ensures that scientific research is always supervised by leading clinical teams, performed with insights relevant to patients, and informed by an awareness of detailed clinical issues.Research topicsOur research spans a wide range of studies aimed at translating scientific discoveries into real-world therapies.Key focus areas include:Clinical research – advancing innovative therapies to the clinic and developing foundational principles for treating human diseasesPreclinical and translational studies – exploring non-human and non-clinical models to accelerate the development of potential treatmentsHuman biology and disease mechanisms – investigating the biological basis of diseases to pave the way for groundbreaking treatmentsClinical trials – conducting trials to test and refine therapies that emerge from our researchThe biology-chemistry connection – bridging the gap between biological insights and chemical innovations to drive therapeutic breakthroughs.We offer translational research and tumour-specific research in areas including;Pancreatic cancerColorectal cancerHaemato-oncologyHead and neck cancerLiver cancerLung cancerGastro-oesophageal cancerBrain cancerBreast cancer.Research themes include:Early detection, screening and diagnosis of cancersCancer vulnerabilities, novel therapeutics and therapy response markersTumour-stroma-immune interactionsCell-signalling, membrane to nucleus.