PhD Programme Studentship

The Rosalind Franklin Institute (The Franklin) is the national institute for technology development for the life sciences in the UK – funded by the government through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The principal goal is to bring about transformative changes in technologies which will allow us to see the biological world in new ways: from single molecules to entire organoids. The insights generated will speed up drug design and development and push forward our understanding of human health and disease.

As a Franklin PhD student you will:

• * Work on highly interdisciplinary projectswith real-world impact
• * Be guided byworld-leading supervisors
• * Access state-of-the-art facilitiesand industrial collaborations
• * Connect with top universitiesacross the UK

We currently have 1 position available for a home candidate.

We are inviting applications for our final available PhD position for a project aligned with one of the four challenge areas below. We welcome applications from students who are excited to work across disciplines and contribute to cutting-edge research at the interface of biology, chemistry, imaging, computation, and AI.

Molecular Perturbations: Chemistry Engineering Biology

Criteria: A strong background in chemistry, biochemistry or related disciplines with passion to design and apply molecular tools to probe biological function.

Successful candidates will combine excellent experimental laboratory skills with an interest in working alongside advanced computational and analytical technologies. Experience in interdisciplinary research and collaborative science is highly desirable.

Criteria: A strong background in physics, mathematics, engineering or related quantitative disciplines with an interest in developing next-generation transmission electron microscopy methods for biological research.

Successful candidates will have an interest in high-resolution imaging, phase retrieval, image reconstruction, inverse problems, and scalable computational approaches for analysing large microscopy datasets. Experience in electron microscopy, quantitative methods, and interdisciplinary collaboration is highly desirable.

Quantitative Biology Across Scales

Criteria: A strong background in biology, imaging, computer science or related disciplines with a passion for developing and applying advanced imaging and computational approaches to address fundamental questions in biology and women's health.

Successful candidates may have experience in electron or X-ray microscopy, image analysis, AI and machine learning, quantitative data science or computational modelling. They will be able to work across experimental and computational teams to extract biological insight from multimodal imaging datasets.

Artificial Intelligence and Informatics for Predictive Biology

Criteria: A strong background in biology or a quantitative discipline, such as physics, engineering or applied mathematics, with expertise in programming and an interest in developing AI-driven computational tools for biological data analysis.

Successful candidates will have experience in AI and machine learning, image analysis, Linux-based high-performance computing and scalable data pipeline development. They will be motivated to build reproducible, open-source computational tools and collaborate across experimental and computational research teams to transform complex biological datasets into meaningful insights.

You are not required to submit a research proposal but will need to detail why you would like a studentship in the chosen Franklin Challenge.

What the Franklin PhD Programme Offers

• * A unique research-focused environment, plus collaborations with leading universities and global companies
• * Access to brand-new labs and industrial partnerships
• * Advanced interdisciplinary skills training
• * A wide choice of projects tailored to your interests
• * A generous, tax-free stipend and additional benefits
• * Individual mentoring and support
• * Free membership in Oxford college student societies (note: no Oxford registration or accommodation included)

This is a fully funded four-year programme designed to equip you with the skills, networks and experience to shape the future of science.

Application Deadlines 

Applications are considered in two separate groupings. You can apply to any deadline given below, but you should try to apply to the earliest deadline available as the positions can become filled early. You will usually receive a decision in about 4-6 weeks after the deadline to which you have applied.

Application deadlines are in January and March with interviews a few weeks after (please check for exact dates below). Please note that if you apply after the deadline, you will grouped into the following round of interviews.

Interviews for international candidates will only be considered for the March deadline (please check for exact dates below).

We strongly recommend that you aim to submit your application form and all your supporting documents at least two weeks before your chosen deadline. Don't wait until the day of the deadline! We may not always be able to answer your questions or help you to resolve any problems in time, particularly around our busiest application deadlines.

Key Dates

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis till we are able to fill the position. You can apply any time before the deadline, but you should try to apply as early as possible as the positions are limited and can be filled early. You will usually receive a decision in about 2-4 weeks after the deadline to which you have applied.

Applications are typically reviewed every 2 weeks with interviews a few weeks after. Please note that if you apply after the first round, you will grouped into the following round of interviews.

We strongly recommend that you aim to submit your application form and all of your supporting documents as early as possible. Don’t wait until the day of the deadline! We may not always be able to answer your questions or help you to resolve any problems in time, particularly around our busiest application deadlines.

Final Deadline for applications: 14 August 2026 

For questions check our FAQ or contact us at training@rfi.ac.uk.  Please also review our