Opportunities

Any funded PhD or postdoc positions currently being advertised will be listed here as well as on the university's job opportunities webpage. While we do not have any active recruiting calls, please see the below information for how you can join us across a range of career stages.

We have hosted undergraduates for summer research projects every year since the lab opened and mentoring our summer students is one of the highlights of our year. Our students have come from universities around the world and have gone on to be very successful in master's programmes, PhD programmes, and other career pathways after their time with us.

What you can expect from an undergraduate summer studentship

Summer studentships last approximately 8 weeks over the summer months and you will be an important member of our team of computational scientists. Our summer projects cover a wide array of topics from AI to mathematical modelling and our students have used these methodologies at the cutting edge of cancer and malaria therapeutics. Your day-to-day will consist of writing code and analysing data in our computational lab space, participating in team meetings and journal clubs, interacting with collaborators around the world, and enjoying all that Cambridge has to offer in the summer months.

Mentorship and career development

During your studentship, you will have a mentor who will teach you computational skills and help you with your project in a supportive and friendly research environment. In addition to training in programming, data analysis, and high-performance computing, we provide our summer students with extensive career mentorship. Students will be offered a career development meeting with the PI where we discuss your career goals and interests in order to chart a roadmap towards achieving these goals. We also provide mentorship on CV writing, application writing, and scientific communication.

Support that lasts after the studentship ends

We're committed to supporting you all the way through your training. Summer students are always welcome to come back to the lab for career support and practice interviews. Many students take us up on our offer (sometimes years after they have left the lab) and we're glad that they do; it's an important part of how we support our students in the long term.

Meet some of our current and former summer students

Darshana Marathe

Your academic background

Any undergraduate student who is interested in computational biology, interested in what we do, and wants to learn more. While some of our summer students join us with some mathematical/computational skills, for many others it will be their first experience writing code.

When to apply

Most deadlines for summer programmes are in early spring. Applicants are therefore encouraged to express their interest in or before February for a project that coming summer.

How to apply

Interested students should Email Michael Boemo with a recent CV, a brief description of their academic background, and a brief description of their motivation for joining the lab.

Programmes

We host students on a variety of different master's programmes including the MPhil by research, Part III Systems Biology, Computational Biology MPhil, and visiting master's students. The duration of the research project will vary by programme. For the MPhil by research, your research will last one full year. For Part III Systems Biology and the Computational Biology MPhil, the research project will last a portion of the year and work alongside taught courses. For each of these programmes, we will work with you to design a research project that excites you and puts you at the forefront of one of our research areas.

Mentorship and career development

Master's degrees can be a time of transition in your career. Their one-year duration often means that it's time to start thinking about PhD applications or job applications quite soon after joining the lab. We know this, and we're ready to provide you with any career support you need early in the academic year. For students who are interested in applying to PhD programmes, we provide help with planning and writing your applications as well as practice interviews so you can put your best foot forward in the selection process.

Meet some of our current and former master's students

Han Zhang

Your academic background

We recruit master's students from a wide breadth of fields including zoology, biochemistry, and mathematics. It is not necessary to have done a quantitative undergraduate degree to do a master's degree with us, though we do request that candidates have at least some programming experience in any language.

When to apply

Students enrolled in Part III Systems Biology or the Computational Biology MPhil should get in touch during the project selection period. Students interested in an MPhil in Biological Sciences should get in touch well ahead of the funding deadline that takes place in early January. Prospective MPhil students that wish to pursue another funding source outside of the university's schemes will need to get in touch ahead of the overall course deadline in late April.

How to apply

Interested students should Email Michael Boemo with a recent CV, a brief description of their academic background, and a brief description of their motivation for joining the lab. Students are very strongly encouraged to do this before submitting an application via the university portal. Those who apply via the university website without discussing a possible project with us beforehand are unlikely to be successful.

Studentships

We participate in multiple 3- and 4-year PhD programmes at the University of Cambridge. Our PhD students lead exciting lines of interdisciplinary research, often working with our global network of collaborators.

Mentorship and career development

During your PhD, you will have regular meetings with the PI that provide the opportunity to set goals and discuss any questions you might have. You will also be invited to a career development meeting with the PI twice per year which provide the opportunity to step back and think about the "big picture" of your career: where you are, where you would like to go, and how we can help you get there. Many of our PhD students choose to do an internship in the technology or pharmaceutical industries during their time with us, and we are very happy to help you seek out and find these opportunities. We also provide additional training and support in research leadership, CV/application writing, and scientific communication.

Meet our PhD students

Sarah Chapman

Your academic background

We welcome PhD applicants with backgrounds across the biological, physical, computational, and mathematical sciences. For students from the biological sciences, we request at least some programming experience in any language. Prior experience in any of the following topics will help you get up to speed a bit more quickly, but they are not a requirement and we certainly don't expect knowledge of all of these topics: AI, software engineering, mathematical modelling, high-performance computing, bioinformatics, and data analysis.

When to apply

PhD applications happen early in the academic year; most deadlines are in November or December. Interested candidates are therefore encouraged to get in touch in the summer or early autumn.

How to apply

Students interested in the Cancer Research UK MRes+PhD or the BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership can apply directly through the university website (links are included below). Interviews and selection for these programmes are managed centrally by the university. However, interested candidates are strongly encouraged to Email Michael Boemo to arrange an informal chat about research projects. In this Email, please include a recent CV, a brief description of your academic background, and a brief description of your motivation for joining the lab.

Students interested in the PhD in Pathology should Email Michael Boemo well ahead of the funding deadline that takes place in early January. Those applying from the US who would like to be considered for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship should be mindful of the deadline in early October. Applicants are strongly encouraged to get in touch via Email to arrange a meeting about possible projects before submitting an application via the university portal. Those who apply via the university website without discussing a possible project with us beforehand are unlikely to be successful.

Studentships

We recruit postdoctoral researchers via grant-funded positions and by supporting applications to postdoctoral fellowships. While PhD recruitment happens at a specific time of the year, there is no equivalent schedule for postdoctoral recruitment; positions will be advertised on an ad hoc basis when they become available. If there are no currently advertised positions, or if you are interested in applying for a fellowship, you are encouraged to express your interest as detailed below.

Mentorship and career development

During your postdoc, you will have regular meetings with the PI that provide the opportunity to discuss your research. You will also be invited to a career development meeting with the PI twice per year which provide the opportunity to step back and think about the "big picture" of your career: where you are, where you would like to go, and how we can help you get there. We also provide additional training and support in research leadership, grant writing, and scientific communication. For those who are interested in becoming a PI, we are very happy to help you develop your own independent research direction and provide mentorship during the fellowship application process.

Meet some of our current and former postdoctoral researchers

Francisco Berkemeier

Your academic background

Applicants to postdoctoral positions will have completed, or be close to completing, a PhD in a quantitative field (such as physics, computer science, mathematics, engineering) or in the life sciences with demonstrable computational experience. At the postdoctoral level, candidates should feel comfortable working in at least one programming language.

How to apply

Any available grant-funded postdoctoral positions will be advertised on the top of this page. If we are not currently advertising a position, you are still welcome to register your interest by Emailing Michael Boemo with a CV, a brief description of your academic background, and a brief description of your motivation for joining the lab.

Prospective candidates that are interested in postdoctoral fellowship opportunities should Email Michael Boemo with a recent CV, a brief description of their academic background, a brief (approximately one paragraph) description of the research idea they would like to pursue as a fellow, and a brief description of why we would be an ideal host lab.

Funding opportunities