Funding

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.‌‌‌‌

Edmond & Lily Safra PhD Studentship in Neuroscience 

Applications are invited for a 3.5-year PhD studentship supported by the Edmond J. Safra Foundation to join the group of Dr Cynthia Sandor in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London.

Project focus: Genetic and Biomarker Stratification of Parkinson’s Disease in the Context of Metabolic Dysfunction.

This is a fully computational PhD focused on understanding heterogeneity and treatment responsiveness in Parkinson’s disease. The student will analyse large-scale human data, including genetics, blood biomarkers, and electronic health records, to identify patient subtypes and inform precision medicine approaches.

Important: This project is entirely computational. Applicants must have strong quantitative skills and hands-on coding experience. It is not a wet-lab position. 

→ Find out more about the Edmond and Lily Safra PhD Studentship here

Award

• The studentship is funded by the Edmond J. Safra Foundation and covers tuition fees at the UK/Home rate plus a tax-free annual stipend of £27,556 for 2025/26 entry.

Eligibility

• Applicants should hold a First Class or Upper Second-Class degree (or equivalent) in genetics, bioinformatics, epidemiology, computational biology, or a related quantitative discipline.
• A Master’s degree in a relevant field (statistical genetics, data science, computational neuroscience) is desirable.
• Experience with R or Python and an interest in large-scale cohort analyses are advantageous.
• Applicants must also meet Imperial College’s English language requirements – further details can be found at the English language requirements guidelines.

Application

• To apply, please send your CV, a brief statement outlining your research interests and motivation, and contact details for two academic referees to c.sandor@imperial.ac.uk and k.zoltowska@imperial.ac.uk.
• Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until 31 January 2026.
• For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Cynthia Sandor (c.sandor@imperial.ac.uk) or Dr Katarzyna Zoltowska (k.zoltowska@imperial.ac.uk).

Mapping the Meningeal Immune Landscape in Multiple Sclerosis

We are offering a fully funded PhD studentship to investigate the role of compartmentalised meningeal inflammation in driving neurodegeneration in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). We are using novel unbiased transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to investigate the detailed cell and molecular signature of meningeal TLS and of the linked cortical pathology to identify potential new MS therapeutic targets and biomarkers of the disease progression.

In this framework, the aim of the proposed PhD project is to define the exact cytoarchitecture and the precise cell-cell interactions, molecular signature and functions of compartmentalized meningeal inflammation in progressive MS cases and to create a comprehensive spatially-defined atlas and a cell/molecular functional model of MS meningeal immune-pathology.

→ Find out more about the PhD project specification here

Award

• £22,780 for 3 years plus 6 months writing-up if needed
• Consumables of up to £12,000 per year, managed by the supervisor.
• Course fees at the UK Home-rate per year. Funding for overseas fees is not provided.

Eligibility

• Applicants must hold, or be expected to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (or equivalent) in the Biomedical Sciences. A Master’s degree in a Neuroscience related subject is also desirable.
• Applicants must also meet Imperial College’s English language requirements – further details can be found at the English language requirements guidelines.
• Potential applicants with a strong background in neuroscience, computer science, molecular biology and cell culture are encouraged to contact Roberta Magliozzi to discuss the project (r.magliozzi04@imperial.ac.uk).
• We particularly welcome applications from candidates underrepresented in neuroscience and biomedical research, and offer a supportive, inclusive research environment.

Application

• Applicants should submit a CV and a cover letter explaining your interest in the project and the names and contacts of two academic referees to Roberta Magliozzi (r.magliozzi04@imperial.ac.uk).
• Applications should be submitted by Tuesday 30 September 2025.
• For further details and informal enquiries about this project contact Roberta Magliozzi (r.magliozzi04@imperial.ac.uk).

‌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.

→ Find out more about the President's PhD Scholarship here

Application 

Complete Imperial College’s online application 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. 

→ Find out more about the MultiSci MRC DTP Studentship here

CSC Joint Funding

Imperial holds responsibility for fee payment whilst bursary payment is delegated to supervisors.

Students are not permitted to apply for fees-only studentships.

→ Find out more about the CSC Joint Funding here

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.

AI4Health

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.

→ Find out more about the AI4Health here

Immune-Mediated Disorders and Risk of Vascular Dementia: Integrative Epidemiological and Genomic Analyses (VIDA DTC)

An opportunity has arisen for a 4-year PhD studentship within the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London funded by the VIDA DTC. VIDA (Vascular and Immune contributors to DementiA) is a multi-institutional partnership between Alzheimer’s Society and four world-leading research sites: the University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh, Imperial, and City St George’s University of London. 

This PhD project will systematically investigate the relationship between IMIDs and VaD using complementary epidemiological and genetic approaches. The first aim is to quantify the association between IMIDs and VaD in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a large UK electronic health-record database. 

Application deadline: 9 January 2025

→ Find out more: Immune-Mediated Disorders and Risk of Vascular Dementia

(Epi)genetic informed gene prioritisation for small vessel disease (VIDA DTC)

An opportunity has arisen for a 4-year PhD studentship within the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London funded by the VIDA DTC. VIDA (Vascular and Immune contributors to DementiA) is a multi-institutional partnership between Alzheimer’s Society and four world-leading research sites: the University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh, Imperial, and City St George’s University of London. 

This project will deliver the first integrative map of gene regulatory mechanisms in SVD, linking human genetics to molecular function. These findings will accelerate biomarker discovery and enable genetically validated therapeutic strategies for SVD and vascular dementias.

Application deadline: 9 January 2025

→ Find out more: (Epi)genetic informed gene prioritisation for small vessel disease (VIDA DTC)

Investigating the effects of head injury on vascular damage and its contribution to neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment (VIDA DTC)

An opportunity has arisen for a 4-year PhD studentship within the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London funded by the VIDA DTC. VIDA (Vascular and Immune contributors to DementiA) is a multi-institutional partnership between Alzheimer’s Society and four world-leading research sites: the University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh, Imperial, and City St George’s University of London. 

The aim of this proposal is to investigate the characteristics of the morphological and functional disturbances in the wall of the blood vessels after TBI and associate them with neuropathological events leading to synaptic loss and cognitive impairment, and to determine whether there are sex differences. In addition, we aim to examine the therapeutic effect of ANXA1 treatment to reverse these effects (Ries et al, 2016; 2021).

Application deadline: 9 January 2025

→ Find out more: Investigating the effects of head injury on vascular damage (...)

Mitochondrial Metabolic Efficiency in Alzheimer’s Disease - Microglial Neuroinflammation and Neurovascular Interactions (VIDA DTC)

An opportunity has arisen for a 4-year PhD studentship within the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London funded by the VIDA DTC. VIDA (Vascular and Immune contributors to DementiA) is a multi-institutional partnership between Alzheimer’s Society and four world-leading research sites: the University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh, Imperial, and City St George’s University of London. 

In this work, we will examine the role of this mechanism of metabolic efficiency in microglia of postmortem AD patient brains and iPSC-derived microglia. We hypothesise that disruption of complex formation and altered mitochondrial metabolic efficiency drives microglial activation, particularly in the perivascular niche and at the neurovascular unit (NVU, where metabolic demand is high), and amplifies inflammatory cascades that contribute to synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration.

Application deadline: 9 January 2025

→ Find out more: Mitochondrial Metabolic Efficiency in Alzheimer’s Disease

Speech and language based biomarkers of vascular cognitive impairment (VIDA DTC)

The aims of this PhD is to develop speech and language based assessments that can detect early signs of cerebrovascular disease and vascular dementia. Identifying this early “window of opportunity” will allow for timely intervention such as management of vascular risk factors, to reduce long-term cognitive decline.

An opportunity has arisen for a 4-year PhD studentship within the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London funded by the VIDA DTC. VIDA (Vascular and Immune contributors to DementiA) is a multi-institutional partnership between Alzheimer’s Society and four world-leading research sites: the University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh, Imperial, and City St George’s University of London. 

Application deadline: 9 January 2025

→ Find out more: Speech and language based biomarkers of vascular cognitive impairment (VIDA DTC)