Molecular Pathology

Drawing on strengths in the University of Edinburgh's Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, and on existing collaborations between the Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews, the NHS and industry, Molecular Pathology research projects are offered within the MMedSci programme as part of an overall strategy to train clinical pathologists and scientists in molecular pathology.

Research projects

We offer a wide range of research project opportunities including:

Optical diagnosis of cervical cancer. Supervisors: Simon Herrington, Kishan Dholakia, Kev Dhaliwal (IGMM, Edinburgh; Physics, St Andrews and QMRI, Edinburgh)
Cell free DNA monitoring as a non invasive follow up tool in bladder cancer care. Supervisors: David Harrison, Tim Aitman, Steve Leung. (IGMM, Edinburgh, Systems Pathology, St Andrews and Urology, NHS Fife)
Fetal Pathology: an assessment of exome and genome sequencing efficacy. Supervisors: Tim Aitman, Mary Porteous, Margaret Evans (IGMM, Edinburgh, Clinical Genetics & Pathology, NHS Lothian)
Translational Studies in Ovarian Cancer – Supervisors Simon Herrington, Charlie Gourley (IGMM Edinburgh)
Personalised Immunotherapy for Sarcoma – Supervisors Donald Salter, Ted Hupp (IGMM Edinburgh)

For further details and other projects please contact the Course Director (details below) for an up-to-date list.

Fees and funding

Full funding (salary and fees) is available from the MRC and the University of Edinburgh for a number of Molecular Pathology places. These will be awarded competitively.

Who should apply?

This programme is designed for high-calibre medical graduates and clinical scientists who want to explore and benefit from a period of hands-on research, to enhance their skills and perhaps with a view to pursuing a PhD or a career in research or molecular pathology.

Entry requirements

Applications will be considered from candidates from any laboratory discipline. The ideal candidate will be medically qualified, or have excellent biomedical science qualifications, and will provide evidence of commitment to molecular pathology. For medical candidates, an undergraduate degree, or its international equivalent, in medicine is required. Clinical scientists must have an accredited degree in biomedical science and be a registered biomedical scientist. You then need to be accepted by the programme director, course director and evaluation panel through a competitive process. You must also meet our English language requirements.