PhD Studentship: Decoding cellular diversity in the brain: functional annotation of neuronal subtypes across development and disease

MRC Functional Genomics Doctoral Landscape Award (MRC FGx-DLA) Studentship for Autumn 2027 Entry Ref: 6025

About the award

Applications for fully-funded studentships are open from 26th October until Tuesday 5th January 2027.

The MRC Functional Genomics Doctoral Landscape Award is offering up to 18 funded PhD studentships across six core institutions (Exeter, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Imperial, King’s and Oxford) as part of the UK Human Functional Genomics Initiative.

About the MRC Functional Genomics Doctoral Landscape Award

The UK Human Functional Genomics Doctoral Landscape Award (FGx-DLA) is a national PhD programme, primarily funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), that will train researchers to understand how genetic variation influences human biology, health and disease.

Bringing together leading UK universities, NHS organisations, industry partners and national research infrastructure the programme offers interdisciplinary 4-year PhD projects spanning experimental and computational functional genomics.

Whether your interests lie in genetics, computational biology, AI, bioinformatics, molecular biology or translational medicine, you’ll join a collaborative national community tackling major challenges in human health.

These four-year studentships provide funding for fees and stipend at the rate set by the UK Research Councils, as well as other research training and support costs, and are available to UK and International students.

About the Programme

Students will be based across the six core institutions involved in the UK Human Functional Genomics Initiative (Exeter, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Imperial, King’s and Oxford) with training delivered through interdisciplinary, often inter-institutional, supervisory teams rather than single laboratories.

The FGx-DLA has been created to develop future research leaders through outstanding PhD projects, shared training and collaboration across institutions. Students will undertake ambitious PhD projects while participating in shared training, scientific meetings, networking and collaborative activities across the wider FGx community.

Funding

This studentship is funded through MRC FGx-DLA and consist of UK tuition fees, as well as a Doctoral Stipend matching UK Research Council National Minimum (£21,805 p.a. for 2026/7, updated each year).

Additional research training and support funding of up to £5,000 per annum is also available.

Studentships will be 4 years full time. Part time study is also available.

Studentship Projects Available

Details of the projects available in the competition for funding can be found via the following link https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/pg-research/funding/phdfunding/fundedcentres/mrcfgxdla/

Information about the UK Human Functional Genomics Initiative can be found here https://www.ukfunctionalgenomics.com/

Entry requirements

All scholarships will be awarded on the basis of academic merit.

Academic Criteria

Minimum of a 2.1 Honours undergraduate degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant subject area.

Subject areas accepted for the programme include Genetics, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Science, Human Biology, Biochemistry, Medicine, Healthcare professions (nursing or pharmacology, Bioinformatics, Computer Science or Statistics.

English Language Criteria

The minimum entry standard for this programme is typically IELTS 7.0 overall with no component below 6.5 (or the equivalents).

Evidence of meeting the criteria must be provided by the application deadline. If we have not received the appropriate documents by the deadline, your application will not be forwarded for shortlisting.

How to apply

To apply for funding please apply via the 'Apply now' button above.

As part of the admissions process you will need to apply via the University of Exeter Portal to complete and submit the following:

• Online application form including
  • Transcript(s) giving full details of subjects studied and grades/marks obtained. This should be an interim transcript if you are still studying.
  • 2 page (max) CV
  • Two references (see Reference information section below)
  • If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country you will need to submit evidence of your current proficiency in English. (see the entry requirements section above)
• FGx-DLA Applicant Questionnaire

You will have an opportunity to list up to three project preferences in the questionnaire form and therefore we will only accept one application per person. If you submit more than one application, only your first application will be considered and subsequent applications will be considered unsuccessful.

Please ensure you complete all relevant actions within the online form and questionnaire. Any missing documents will result in your application not being forwarded for shortlisting.

Reference information

You will be asked to submit two references as part of the application process. If you cannot upload your reference documents with your application, please ensure you provide details of your referees. If you provide contact details of referees only, we will not expect receipt of references until after the shortlisting stage. Your referees should not be from the prospective supervisory team.

If you are shortlisted for interview, please ensure that your two academic referees email their references to the pgrapplicants@ex.ac.uk, 7 days prior to the interview dates. Please note that we will not be contacting referees to request references, you must arrange for them to be submitted to us by the deadline provided.

References should be submitted by your referees to us directly in the form of a letter. Referees must email their references to us from their institutional email accounts. We cannot accept references from personal/private email accounts, unless it is a scanned document on institutional headed paper and signed by the referee.

All application documents must be submitted in English. Certified translated copies of academic qualifications including transcripts must also be provided.

Data Sharing

In certain circumstances the University may need to share your data with a third party external organisation in order to reach a decision on, or progress your application. In such circumstances we are committed to protecting your data in accordance with all relevant data protection legislation.

Our Applicants Privacy Policy provides full information about how and why we process, use and, where necessary, share the personal data you provide to us as an applicant, and how we protect it.

The University is committed to providing a fair and accessible admissions system. To achieve this all staff involved in recruitment and selection must be appropriately trained for their roles.

Summary