Funding is often secured through Wellcome Trust or MRC DTP Fellowships. Further information about this and specific projects studying under the supervision of Departmental supervisors who have obtained funding are advertised below.
For up-to-date information on tuition fees, please refer to the College's Fees and Funding pages. It should be noted that supervisors may charge an additional ‘bench fee’ from sponsors to cover the costs of laboratory expenses (consumables and equipment) for postgraduate research projects.
PhD Studentship in Bacterial Infection Biology
Applications are now open for a 3-year Department of Infectious Disease PhD Studentship in Bacterial Pathogenesis, based at South Kensington Campus of 51³Ô¹ÏÍø.
We are looking for a doctoral student to identify and define the functional consequences of bacterial pathogen & human receptor interactions. The successful candidate will join Dr Alex McCarthy’s group at the Centre for Bacterial Resistance Biology, South Kensington Campus, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø.
The primary goal of the project is to characterise interactions of bacterial pathogens with inhibitory immune receptors, and to understand how these host-pathogen interactions alter immune responses and bacterial survival. The results will have broad implications in understanding bacterial infection biology.
Read more in the full document here
Award:
- The studentship is anticipated to commence on 1 October 2026.
- The studentship is funded by the Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine for 3 years and covers home fees and a stipend of £23,805 per annum.
Eligibility:
- Applicants must hold a First-Class or Upper Second-Class degree in a relevant scientific discipline, with motivation and expertise in host-pathogen interactions, immunology, and microbiology.
- We would normally expect successful applicants to hold or be on course to achieve a Master's degree in a related field. Applicants must also meet 51³Ô¹ÏÍø College’s English language requirements – further details can be found at /study/pg/apply/requirements/english/.
- All 51³Ô¹ÏÍø PhD entry requirements must be met.
How to apply:
- Please send your CV and a covering letter describing your suitability for the studentship, your areas of interest in bacterial pathogenesis, and why you are a suitable candidate. Include the details of two referees.
- Send your application via the following Google Form,
- Submission deadline is 17:00 on Tuesday 14 April 2026.
Genomic and Functional Adaptation of Staphylococcus aureus During Controlled Human Infection
Staphylococcus aureus is a leading human pathogen causing significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. A critical bottleneck in understanding S. aureus pathogenesis is the transition from asymptomatic colonisation to invasive infection. This temporal association is difficult to understand currently as most clinical research relies on isolates taken after an infection is established.
This project overcomes this limitation by utilising samples from a pioneering Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM). By tracking a fully characterised challenge strain from the exact moment of inoculation, this project offers an unprecedented, high-resolution view of bacterial evolution, host-pathogen interaction, and immune evasion in vivo.
The aim of the project is to map the functional and genomic adaptation of S. aureus during infection, combining classical microbiology with cutting-edge multi-omics and advanced imaging.
A 3-year full-time PhD studentship is available working across two departments at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø - the Department of Infectious Disease and Life Sciences. The work involves collaboration with colleagues at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Cork, and GSK.
The project will be supervised by Dr Dinesh Aggarwal, Dr Ana Eulalio, and Professor Francis Drobniewski. The studentship is anticipated to commence from 1 July 2026 onwards.
Read full details about the PhD in this document
Award:
- The studentship is anticipated to commence on 1 July 2026.
- The studentship is funded for 3 years and covers home fees and a stipend of £23,805 per annum.
Eligibility:
- Applicants must hold (or obtain by June 2026) a first or upper-second-class honours degree or equivalent in a Life Sciences or Microbiology discipline.
- A Master’s degree in microbiology, bioinformatics, immunology, or a related field, or equivalent research experience, is expected.
- Prior experience with bacterial culture, molecular biology techniques (DNA/RNA extraction), or bioinformatics (WGS/RNA-seq analysis) is desirable but not essential.
- Applicants must also meet 51³Ô¹ÏÍø College’s English language requirements – further details can be found at /study/pg/apply/requirements/english/.
- All 51³Ô¹ÏÍø PhD entry requirements must be met.
How to apply:
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Applicants should submit their CV and a maximum two page cover letter, including full contact details of two referees, to Dr Dinesh Aggarwal (d.aggarwal@imperial.ac.uk).
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We look forward to receiving applications from all candidates and will select those who display the potential to become world-leading researchers of the future based on their application and performance at an interview.
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For further information about the research or queries about the application process please contact Dinesh Aggarwal (d.aggarwal@imperial.ac.uk).
- The deadline for applications is 19 May 2026.
Applications are currently closed for the inaugural David Holden PhD Studentship in Bacterial Pathogenesis, based in the Department of Infectious Disease at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø.
This prestigious studentship celebrates the scientific impact of Emeritus Professor David Holden FRS, the first Regius Professor of Infectious Disease in the UK and a pioneer in bacterial pathogenesis. The Holden lab at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø developed groundbreaking techniques, such as 'signature-tagged mutagenesis,' to understand the molecular mechanisms by which bacterial pathogens cause disease. This PhD studentship aims to continue this tradition, providing world-class training in bacterial pathogenesis.
The Department of Infectious Disease is at the forefront of research into bacterial pathogenesis. Our work ranges from deciphering the molecular mechanisms bacteria use to cause disease and exploring how the immune system and microbiome defend against infections, to developing innovative solutions to antimicrobial resistance. (/infectious-disease/research/). The department offers excellent training and a strong community network for PhD students. Students receive cutting-edge training in bacterial pathogenesis and infection biology, within an open, friendly, and supportive environment.
The President’s PhD Scholarship
The College provides the home UKRI fee rate and a bursary. Departments pay the home tuition fee top-up i.e. the difference between the UKRI home tuition fee rate and the Department’s home tuition fee rate.
Application - Complete by the deadline stated on The President’s PhD Scholarship Webpages.
Prior to applying - Applicants must have made contact with a supervisor who has agreed to supervise their research project. Supervisors are limited to supervise one student at any time. Once you have a supervisor who has agreed to support you, please email researchdegreeenquiries@imperial.ac.uk so your PhD scholarship application can be prioritised for review and shortlisting.
MultiSci MRC DTP Studentship
This is a 1+3 Studentship which provides funding for the MRes Biomedical Research in Year 1 and, after successful completion, 3 years’ funding for a PhD.
CSC Joint Funding
51³Ô¹ÏÍø holds responsibility for fee payment whilst bursary payment is delegated to supervisors.
Students are not permitted to apply for fees-only studentships.
CSC Fully Funded Scholarship
Students should apply directly to the CSC usually through their ‘home’ Chinese institution. Further information is available from the ‘home’ Chinese institution.
Fees and stipend are paid in full by Central College funding.
This is managed by Britta Ross - CDT Manager - UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Healthcare. The AI CDT is managed by Computing, Engineering where all students are registered irrespective of supervisors’ Departments. The 2:1 financial cost sharing model of the CDT is as follows: 2/3 of the PhD student costs are covered by the CDT and 1/3 (or 1/6 if two joint supervisors) of the PhD student costs are covered by the supervisors.