Centre for Bioinformatics

Division of Molecular Biosciences

Wellcome Trust 4 year PhD Programme in Bioinformatics
Introduction
Applications are invited for a Wellcome Trust 4 year PhD programme in
Bioinformatics commencing October 2007 that has five places. This
programme is run by the Centre for Bioinformatics and involves the Centre for
Bioinformatics in the Division of Molecular Biosciences, the Departments of
Chemistry, Computing, Mathematics, and the Medical School. The
programme will provide an interdisciplinary training and applications are
invited from students graduating from any biological, physical, computational
or mathematical first degree course. We are particularly keen to encourage
graduates from numerical and physical science first degree backgrounds to
join the course.
The first year
The first year of the course will be closely based around the MSc in
Bioinformatics and Systems Biology. Teaching is by experts in relevant fields
within Imperial College, but also makes use of extensive collaborations with
other researchers in the UK and beyond to bring in guest lecturers as
required. In the first term, students are provided with the following compulsory
elements:
(i) Bioinformatics and Systems Biology (ii) Mathematics and Statistical
Inference (iii) Computing (C++, PERL, JAVA)
In addition, undergraduates who do not have a biological sciences first degree
will attend appropriate lectures to provide them with the necessary
background.
During the end of the first term and for the first half of the second term, areas
in computational biology are addressed through a core module (Bioinformatics
and Systems Biology II). Topics covered include protein sequence and
structure; DNA and genome analysis; statistical genetics, networks and
selected topics in computing.
The remainder of the first year will be spent in two projects (about three
months each) embedded within research groups involved in the programme.
Towards the end of the first year, students will identify their PhD project and
the primary supervisor. The projects are theoretically based.
The next three years
Students will register for the PhD programme in the Department or Division of
their primary supervisor. There will be also a second supervisor from a
complementary discipline. A wide range of research projects will be offered
ranging from computational and statistical topics through to algorithm
development within a biological context. There will also be opportunities to

undertake Bioinformatics projects within experimental groups. The choice of

research project and Department is made at the end of the first year.
Bioinformatics at Imperial College London
Imperial College London has a superb range of world class research in
Bioinformatics. More details can be found on the web site of the Centre for
Bioinformatics (www.bioinformatics.ic.ac.uk).
The Centre organises an
extensive seminar programme. There is also a Bioinformatics Support
Service providing state of the art software and databases together with advice
and one to one tuition if required.
Application Requirements
Applicants must have or be expected to obtain at least an upper second
degree from any biological, physical, computational or mathematical first
degree course from a first class EU University or equivalent. We are very
keen to encourage graduates from computer science/ statistics / mathematics
/ physics backgrounds to enrol for the course in addition to those trained in
the biological sciences. For this programme, we will not consider lower
degrees (2.2. or below) augmented by a Masters qualification. As the aim of
the course is to promote discipline hopping, we cannot accept students who
have already completed a Bioinformatics undergraduate or Masters degree.
There are no facilities for part-time students on this programme.
Demonstration of cross-discipline aptitude is an advantage.
The programme is open to all, including overseas students. There is an
annual stipend (including London Allowance commences at 18,848 in year 1,
is 19,791 in year 2 and 20,780 in years 3 and 4). This stipend is free of UK
income tax. There is additional support for the research and conference
travel. Note that the Wellcome Trust will pay UK / European Union student
fees only. Overseas students will need to finance the additional costs (see
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/P1397.htm).
Application procedure
You must follow these details.
1) First please consult http://www.imperial.ac.uk/P1397.htm.
2) Formal applications must be made on this form (Wellcome Bioinformatics
PhD application form). DO NOT USE THE ON-LINE APPLICATION
SYSTEM. A CV without this application form will not be accepted.
3) Do not fill in section 8 on the form - instead add a typed statement of no
more than one A4 page describing why you wish to join the programme. If
you have any scientific publications, you can add a list of these but please do
not send copies of the actual publication or the manuscript (even if they are
submitted or in the press). Please do not append a research proposal or a
longer statement.
4) If your university issues transcripts, you may add these.

5) Completed application forms should be sent to Ms Leslie A. Harris,

Biochemistry Office, Biochemistry Building, Imperial College London, South
Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, England and must be clearly marked
Wellcome Trust 4 Year Bioinformatics PhD. (Please do not send your
application to the Registry.)
7) Please ask two referees to send a reference to Ms Leslie A. Harris,
Biochemistry Office, Biochemistry Building, Imperial College London, South
Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, England. (Please do not send your
references to the Registry.)
These references should clearly marked Wellcome Trust 4 Year
Bioinformatics PhD. In general we would expect at least one academic
referee. If you have a Masters degree or will shortly be completing a Masters
programme, we would expect an academic reference relating to this
component of your education.
Please note the following requirements for your academic references.
Please ask you referees to provide a rank for your ability compared to others
in your peer group. If your referee provides a degree grade, please could your
referee also indicate the minimum grade for PhD admission at your
educational establishment. If you are an overseas candidate, we would be
grateful if the referee would also comment on your proficiency in written and
spoken English.
8) Note the closing date is 9 January 2007.
9) Please note that you must include:
an e-mail contact as only this route will be used to invite shortlisted
candidates for interview;
the full contact details (e-mail essential, FAX and telephone) of two
referees;
full details of your A-level grades (or equivalent qualifications);
A typed statement of no more than one A4 page describing why you wish
to join the programme (please add this to your application but do not fill up
section 8 in the formal application form).
10) Shortlisted candidates will be called for interview and will be expected to
present a short (10 minute) talk on a Bioinformatics topic. The closing date
for applications is Tuesday 9 January 2007. We are planning to hold the
interviews in early February (further details will be placed on this web
site when the date is fixed).

Frequently asked questions Please read these

Whom can I contact for more information about this programme?
We regret that neither the Bioinformatics Centre nor Ms Harris can enter into
correspondence or e-mails until we have invited you to interview.
Can I just pursue the three years PhD without first following the MSc?

This is a 4-year programme to encourage students to acquire the broad range

of inter-disciplinary skills required for a PhD in Bioinformatics. If you already
have an MSc in Bioinformatics you are not eligible. In addition, we require that
all students on the programme will obtain major benefit from attending the first
year MSc programme. For these reasons it is impossible just to pursue a
three year PhD under this programme. If you wish to apply for a three year
PhD, you need to contact potential supervisors directly. We cannot do
this for you. Some potential research groups at Imperial can be found under
www.ic.ac.uk/bioinformatics under research and in the London area under
www.londonbioinformatics.org under research.
Whom can I contact for general information about fees and whether my
qualifications are suitable?
Details are on the web under http://www.imperial.ac.uk/P1397.htm. Further
details could be obtained from admission@imperial.ac.uk. You cannot get
further details of this specific programme from admissions.
If I am a European Union national, am I eligible for this programme?
If you are a European Union national, you will receive the full stipend and in
additional all your fees are covered.
If I an NOT a European Union national, am I eligible for this programme?
If you are NOT a European Union national, you will receive the full stipend
and in additional the home/EU level of your fees will be covered. You will
have to fund the difference of home and overseas fees (about 7,000 p.a.) for
each of the four years. There is a possibility of applying for an overseas
research student (ORS) award to cover this difference for the last three years
of the programme (see http://www.imperial.ac.uk/P1337.htm).
Our
understanding is that to get this award you would need the equivalent of a first
class degree from a UK university.
You must be able to provide this
difference of fees from personal funds as the ORS is highly competitive.
Further details of this ORS award will be provided to shortlisted candidates at
the interview on request. We regret we cannot enter into any
correspondence about scholarships until you have been shortlisted.
What do I do if I will only get my undergraduate degree in Summer 2007?
This is not a problem. We will use your references as a guide to whether you
are likely to obtain an upper second or above. We also will look at your
grades from your senior school. Our offer would be conditional upon you
obtaining at least an upper second.
Does everyone need to be interviewed?
We plan to interview all candidates from UK and Europe. If you are from
outside Europe, we may first hold a telephone interview if you are shortlisted.

Do I need to choose a research project and a supervisor now?

No, you just join the course in the first year. Towards the end of the first year
you will identify you supervisor and the research project.
What opportunities are there to pursue an MSc in Bioinformatics and
Systems Biology?
Details of the one year MSc in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology can be
found
at
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/lifesciences/studying/courses/postgraduate
/bioinformatics. There are three MRC funded studentships and there may

be additional BBSRC studentships. These provide fees and stipend for home
student. Regulations for EU students are complex but in outline EU students
will only get fees except if they have been working or studying the UK for the
3 previous years. These BBSRC and MRC studentships do not support
overseas students. Of course, you can apply to attend the course and pay
your own fees.
Do I need to apply separately for the MSc course?
Yes, if you wish to follow the MSc you should send a separate application
directly to Registry.