About the Programme
The Precision Medicine Doctoral Training Programme is a fully-funded PhD with integrated study funded by the Medical Research Council, University of Edinburgh and University of Glasgow.
Hosted by the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with the University of Glasgow and the Karolinska Institute, this prestigious programme provides PhD research training alongside taught courses over four years of study and welcomed its first cohort of students in September 2016.
This Doctoral Training Programme focuses on training PhD students both in quantitative skills (mathematics, statistics, computation, and digital excellence) identfied as key by the MRC (Medical Research Council) skills priorities, and in their application to a variety of data sources (from wet bench ‘omics’ to health records), meaning that students acquire interdisciplinary training in the skills required to deliver the vision of precision medicine.
Upon successful completion of the programme students are awarded a Doctor of Philosophy with Integrated Study in the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine from the University of Edinburgh or the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences from the University of Glasgow, dependant on where the research is primarily based.
What is Precision Medicine?
Precision Medicine identifies disease endotypes that are diagnostically, prognostically, or mechanistically meaningful, with the aim of improving patient stratification and informing development of novel therapies – in simpler words, it is devoted to targeting the right therapy/prevention to the right patient at the right time. This includes tackling healthcare inequalities. The scientific approach integrates evidence from advanced datasets derived from clinical samples with individual genomics, e-record, imaging and other data-rich -omic parameters to accelerate discovery and research impact.
Programme Vision
This programme supports research training at the interfaces between biological, clinical, societal and computational systems. Mandatory taught elements include statistics, research ethics, innovation and entrepreneurship, health economics, data management and bioinformatics. The traditional structure of a PhD is centred solely on a research project, however this programme incorporates bespoke 'integrated study' to enhance skills training. This means that students are required to gain credits by undertaking taught courses, including self designed courses, at the University of Edinburgh and/or the University of Glasgow. Courses and training can also be undertaken at two external partners, the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and the Alan Turing Institute in London. More detailed information regarding the programme structure can be found on our dedicated web page here.
Funded PhDs for Home and International applicants
The Precision Medicine programme was launched in 2016/17 offering 26 studentships per year over six academic years and has this year been successful in its bid to the MRC to have funding renewed. Studentships will be offered each year over the next three academic years, these will be awarded across the University of Edinburgh and University of Glasgow, beginning in 2022/23 and continuing until session 2024/5. These studentship awards provide full tuition fee and stipend funding for high quality UK, EU and International applicants. The studentship you are awarded will be dependent on the project you undertake.
Our new Precision Medicine graduates will have the adaptability needed to make them agile researchers in this fast moving area, equipped to develop and utilise analytical methodologies to improve health and wellbeing.
Further information about this training programme and the application process can be found on the University of Edinburgh's Degree Finder.
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