Overview

Society faces major global challenges including a need for sustainable food, materials and chemicals, solutions to combat climate change, and innovative technologies for improved healthcare. Engineering Biology (EngBio) is an emerging field at the confluence of Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, AI and Data Science. It has the potential to provide innovative solutions to these challenges by harnessing biology in new ways and creating biomimetic and engineered living systems capable of surpassing what is possible from single-discipline approaches.

The Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Engineering Biology (EngBioCDT) will provide bespoke cohort-based training with a focus on how synthetic biology concepts and technologies can be translated into products with real-world impact.

This course is run jointly with the University of Oxford.

After training in the fundamentals of mathematics, biology, engineering and computing, and undertaking team-based problem-solving projects, you will complete two short research projects, one of which will develop into your substantive PhD project. Throughout the course, you will undertake bespoke training in innovation and commercialisation, responsible innovation, EDI and bioethics, and career development.

Each year, a summer school will take place in June/July which will include talks from engineering biology leaders, student pitches from innovation in engineering biology projects, and outreach projects.

Through close links with our industrial partners, and activities such as industrial placements, mentorship and translational training, the CDT will empower students to deliver EngBio solutions to real-world applications through skills and knowledge training.

Programme structure

The first year will be divided into three segments.

The first segment will begin with induction weeks in both Bristol and Oxford. You will then receive around four weeks of foundation training (in Oxford). Students with a background in life sciences or engineering/physical sciences will receive foundation training in engineering or biology, respectively.

This will be followed by around six weeks of specialised training in engineering biology at the University of Bristol. It will include training in engineering biology design across scales (from biomolecules to cells), and advanced topics such as:

  • Modelling and control theory
  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning
  • Gene circuit design
  • Protein design and engineering
  • Tissue engineering.

During the first four weeks of the second segment, you will work on your innovation in engineering biology group projects. This will be followed by the first of two individual short research projects.

Segment three will comprise the second of these research projects and a summer school. Research will aim to align with four major focus areas:

  • Robust methods for bioengineering;
  • Rational biomolecular and biosystems design;
  • Evolution-guided biodesign;
  • Digital cells and AI.

Potential collaborative research projects will also be offered by the University of Oxford.

One of the two short research projects will typically develop into the substantive PhD project that you will work on throughout years two to four.

View our unit and programme catalogue for full details of the structure and unit content of our PhD Engineering Biology.

Entry requirements

We welcome applications from candidates who aspire to work in a multidisciplinary field.

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their international equivalent: a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in engineering, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, medicine or related disciplines.

See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.

Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.

Go to admissions statement

If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level E.

Further information about English language requirements and profile levels.

Fees and funding

Home: full-time
£4,850 per year
Overseas: full-time
£26,700 per year

Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.

More about tuition fees, living costs and financial support.

Alumni discount

University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study. Check your eligibility for an alumni discount.

Funding and scholarships

We have a number of UKRI, University and Industry funded studentships, which will be allocated to successful candidates (national and international).

Home students

Fully-funded studentships are available for successful home students. To be classed as a home student, applicants must meet the required residency criteria set out by the UK government.

Further information can be found on the University of Bristol website.

International students

If you do not meet the above criteria, you will be classed as an international student.

A limited number (up to 30%) of UKRI fully-funded studentships are available through the EngBio CDT for international applicants.

Please note, these studentships do not cover the costs associated with obtaining a visa (including healthcare surcharge) or relocating to the UK. Please ensure you review the details relating to obtaining a visa before applying.

Self-funded or sponsored students are also very welcome to apply.

Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students.

Career prospects

As this is a new course for 2024-25, there is no graduate destination data. However, for context, graduates of the Synthetic Biology programme which preceded this Engineering Biology cohort-based training programme, progressed into industry (50%), academia (40%), and startups (10%).

The EngBioCDT has strong links with leading academics and institutions worldwide. Our partners, including those we already approached at the J. Craig Venter Institute, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Rice University, Stanford University and at the Universities of Boston, Colorado Boulder, Ghent, Naples and Saarland, will provide:

  • access to online training materials;
  • guest lectures;
  • student secondments;
  • bespoke technical training in areas of specific expertise;
  • co-mentoring on specific projects.

Meet our supervisors

The following list shows potential supervisors for this programme. Visit their profiles for details of their research and expertise.

zahraa.abdallah@bristol.ac.uk;minkoo.ahn@bristol.ac.uk;laurence.aitchison@bristol.ac.uk;ross.anderson@bristol.ac.uk;james.armstrong@bristol.ac.uk;andy.bailey@bristol.ac.uk;david.barton@bristol.ac.uk;imre.berger@bristol.ac.uk;christiane.berger-schaffitzel@bristol.ac.uk;nikolai.bode@bristol.ac.uk;amberly.brigden@bristol.ac.uk;rafael.carazosalas@bristol.ac.uk;a.r.champneys@bristol.ac.uk;c.clements@bristol.ac.uk;csdtc@bristol.ac.uk;oscar.corderollana@bristol.ac.uk;matt.crump@bristol.ac.uk;p.curnow@bristol.ac.uk;daniel.dandrea@bristol.ac.uk;mark.dodding@bristol.ac.uk;sean.froudist-walsh@bristol.ac.uk;hermes.gadelha@bristol.ac.uk;m.c.galan@bristol.ac.uk;alberto.gambaruto@bristol.ac.uk;luca.giuggioli@bristol.ac.uk;anu.goenka@bristol.ac.uk;thomas.gorochowski@bristol.ac.uk;claire.grierson@bristol.ac.uk;sabine.hauert@bristol.ac.uk;helmut.hauser@bristol.ac.uk;matthew.hennessy@bristol.ac.uk;marc.holderied@bristol.ac.uk;martin.homer@bristol.ac.uk;conor.houghton@bristol.ac.uk;robert.hughes@bristol.ac.uk;kevin.kemp@bristol.ac.uk;mei.li@bristol.ac.uk;qiang.liu@bristol.ac.uk;t.liverpool@bristol.ac.uk;s.mann@bristol.ac.uk;paul.martin@bristol.ac.uk;lucia.marucci@bristol.ac.uk;jennifer.mcmanus@bristol.ac.uk;adrian.mulholland@bristol.ac.uk;sofia.oliveira@bristol.ac.uk;avinash.patil@bristol.ac.uk;eugenia.piddini@bristol.ac.uk;davide.pisani@bristol.ac.uk;jp16127@bristol.ac.uk;ross.purple@bristol.ac.uk;emma.raven@bristol.ac.uk;m.saleem@bristol.ac.uk;enrsr@bristol.ac.uk;n.j.savery@bristol.ac.uk;f.scarpa@bristol.ac.uk;t.sharp@bristol.ac.uk;jim.spencer@bristol.ac.uk;stuart.thomson@bristol.ac.uk;ash.m.toye@bristol.ac.uk;antonia.tzemanaki@bristol.ac.uk;p.verkade@bristol.ac.uk;g.i.welsh@bristol.ac.uk;heather.whitney@bristol.ac.uk;tom.a.williams@bristol.ac.uk;chris.willis@bristol.ac.uk;d.n.woolfson@bristol.ac.uk;

Research groups

We cover the breadth of Engineering Biology and strongly encourage cross-disciplinary research projects.

Research will align with four major focus areas:

  • Robust methods for bioengineering. Ensuring the safe and reliable function of engineered biosystems is of paramount importance for effective translation towards commercial applications. This theme will consider the integration of control engineering methodologies within the context of EngBio and explore the in silico and in vivo implementation of control algorithms to ensure reliable functions are maintained in complex and varying real-world environments. Exemplar project areas include: developing robotic platforms to automate and accelerate biodesign and prototyping; feedback control-based drug regimen design for cancer treatment; engineering of robust biocontrollers for metabolic engineering; resource-aware gene network design.
  • Rational biomolecular and biosystems design. Improvements in computational design can facilitate de novo design of biomolecules and their predictable assembly into larger, functional biosystems. This theme will build on advances in nanotechnology, structural modelling of proteins, and molecular dynamics to push the boundaries of rational biomolecular design for specific applications. Exemplar project areas include: nanoparticle-based vaccine design; metamaterials design and engineering; blood-cell engineering; synthetic protocells; high precision micro- and nano-encapsulation for healthcare.
  • Evolution-guided biodesign. A characteristic of biology is its ability to evolve. However, evolution is often overlooked in EngBio. This theme will tackle this issue by demonstrating the unavoidable impact of evolution on the stability and function of biological designs, present methodologies to assess and design for evolution by either reducing the impact of evolutionary changes to increase the robustness of engineered biosystems, or by harnessing evolution itself as part of the design process (for example, directed evolution). Exemplar project areas include: evolution-aware biodesign workflows; directed evolution of bacteriophage to address antimicrobial resistance; evolvable cellular communities for healthcare; evolution-guided enzyme design.
  • Digital cells and AI. Digital science is transforming how we approach biological design. This theme will build on advances in large mathematical models of entire cellular processes (for example, transcription, translation, and metabolism), as well as new data-centric approaches founded on AI and machine learning for the digital design of biological systems. Exemplar project areas include: generative AI approaches to de novo peptide and protein design; whole-cell model and AI-guided chassis design; design of microbial communities for energy recovery from waste water; development of mechano-chemical models for engineering wound healing in living tissues.