We are delighted to announce the continuation of our industry-based PhD programmes into 2026/27.
We have available, from October 2026, a number of PhD studentships of 3.5 years in duration in the areas of Biopharmaceuticals and Synthetic & Medicinal Chemistry.
The successful candidates will be based at the GSK site at Stevenage (R&D) and will have the opportunity to spend at least three months of the studentship period at the University of Strathclyde.
Students will be registered as postgraduate students with the University of Strathclyde and co-supervised by academics and senior chemists and/or biologists from GSK.
Specific research areas include:
Biopharmaceuticals
- Antibody selections – focused on identification of antibodies through different platform and optimisation methods.
- Antibody protein science – focused on expression and characterisation of therapeutic protein material.
- Antibody pharmacology – focused on characterisation of antibodies via target and ligand methods and functional assays.
- Molecular design and engineering of antibodies to assess and determine antibody developability.
- Structural and biophysical sciences – focused on unravelling the molecular mode of action using biophysical, mass spectrometry, and structural biology techniques.
Synthetic & Medicinal Chemistry
- Medicinal Chemistry – focused on organic chemistry as applied to the design and development of modern drug modalities, including studies at the interface of organic synthesis and bioconjugation, and the expansion of contemporary synthesis approaches of importance within medicinal chemistry programmes.
- Chemical Biology – focused on novel approaches for the discovery of next-generation therapeutics, including organic synthesis, high-throughput chemistry, screening of reactive fragments, cell-based assays, and data analysis.
- Advancing structural, biophysical, data analysis, and modelling approaches (e.g. using high resolution mass spectrometry, cryo-EM, and NMR) as aligned with modern drug modalities.
