Eight PhD studentship places are now available for

early October 2022 entry, via an OXB-led

Collaborative Training Partnership

Eight PhD studentship places are now available for early October 2022 entry, via an OXB-led Collaborative Training Partnership

Oxford Biomedica is delighted to be leading a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded Collaborative Training Partnership (CTP) doctoral training programme called Advanced Bioscience of Viral Products (ABViP), together with our academic partners at the University of Oxford (UOXF) and University College London (UCL).  

ABViP is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary training programme designed and led by industry. It aims to deliver the next generation of bioscience leaders who will advance research on the underpinning bioscience of viral products for future gene therapies and vaccines. The ABViP CTP will train a cohort of 24 PhD/DPhil students (18 x CTP-funded, 6 x partner-funded) over a three-year period of student intake to address the acute viral vector skills shortage, with an intake of eight students per year in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Partners will bring complementary expertise in Lentiviral and Adeno-Associated viral vector bioprocessing, novel analytics and data science methodologies and viral vaccine design, development, and characterisation. The academic partners also bring extensive experience of leading high-quality, internationally leading doctoral training programmes including UCL’s BBSRC London Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme DTP (LIDo) and EPSRC CDT in Bioprocess Engineering Leadership and UOXF’s BBSRC Interdisciplinary Bioscience DTP, MRC Interdisciplinary Medical Research DTP, and IBM/EPSRC Computational Discovery programme.

2022 year entry ABViP studentships:

The eight projects for the 2022 year entry (starting early October 2022) have now been selected by the ABViP Management Board, and applications are open. If you are interested in applying, please follow the relevant link(s) below.

At Oxford Biomedica we recognise the importance of investing in early talent, and we are passionate about developing the scientific leaders of the future within cell and gene therapy and viral products, especially as the industry is booming.

However, we understand the challenges for those who are thinking about their next steps, including the barriers PhD/DPhil study can bring, whether it be financial or career starting opportunities, that contribute to a skills gap within this sector. We particularly welcome applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds, or via an unconventional career path. To learn more about the policies in relation to diversity and inclusion at the University of Oxford and UCL, please follow these links:

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at The University of Oxford

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at UCL

The aim of the CTP is to attract the very best people to the available PhD / DPhil studentships, to help build a pool of the scientific leaders of the future for such an important aspect of medicines development. Students trained through the ABViP CTP will gain a holistic insight into the research and development activities required to develop the medicines of the future, with the ability to see the world of medicines development through both an academic and industrial lens.

The projects selected for 2022 year entry are outlined below, including which of the two academic partner organisations the student will register with for their PhD/DPhil, as well as details of the primary supervisor (each of the students will also be appointed an industrial supervisor from Oxford Biomedica, selected on the basis of their background skills and expertise relevant to the specific project):

List of ABViP studentship projects for 2022 academic year entry:

Project ID: ABViP 2022/1

  • Primary Supervisor - Dr Duygu Dikicioglu | Associate Professor in Digital Bioprocess Engineering, Dept of Biochemical Engineering
  • Academic Partner - University College London, UCL
  • Project Title: Next generation viral vector design via liquid machine learning reinforced with pan-omics 

 

Project ID: ABViP 2022/2

  • Primary Supervisor - Dr Darren Nesbeth | Associate Professor, Dept of Biochemical Engineering
  • Academic Partner - University College London, UCL
  • Project Title: The Viroscillator: oscillatory expression of lentiviral transgenes to extend productive life of stable packaging cells

 

Project ID: ABViP 2022/3

  • Primary Supervisor - Professor Paul Dalby | Professor of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Dept of Biochemical Engineering
  • Academic Partner - University College London, UCL
  • Project Title: Real-time monitoring of viral vector product quality

 

Project ID: ABViP 2022/4

  • Primary Supervisor - Professor Nicolas Szita | Professor of Bioprocess Microfluidics, Dept of Biochemical Engineering
  • Academic Partner - University College London, UCL
  • Project Title: Towards rapid, high-throughput and cost-effective evaluation of viral vector efficacy: Rapid image pattern analysis from microfluidic cell cultures using AI algorithms

 

Project ID: ABViP 2022/5

  • Primary Supervisor - Professor Mark Howarth | Professor of Protein Nanotechnology, Department of Biochemistry
  • Academic Partner - University of Oxford, UOXF
  • Project Title: Enhancing the modular re-targeting of lentiviral vectors

 

Project ID: ABViP 2022/6

  • Primary Supervisor - Dr Kanmin Xue | Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellow
  • Academic Partner - University of Oxford, UOXF
  • Project Title: Understanding the cellular and humoral immune response to viral vectors 

 

Project ID: ABViP 2022/7

  • Primary Supervisor - Professor Stephen Hyde | Professor of Molecular Therapy and Co-Director of the Gene Medicine Research Group
  • Academic Partner - University of Oxford, UOXF
  • Project Title: Using Directed Evolution to Improve Lentiviral Vector Targeting

 

Project ID: ABViP 2022/8

  • Primary Supervisor - Professor Deborah Gill | Professor of Gene Medicine, Co-Director of the Gene Medicine Research Group and Head of the Nuffield Division of Clinical Laboratory Sciences
  • Academic Partner - University of Oxford, UOXF
  • Project Title: Improved viral vector design for homology-independent targeted integration (HITI)  

In addition to the aforementioned application process, we encourage interested candidates to contact the supervisors for more information. Applications for up to three studentships will be considered.

The joint venture will support the successful student(s) with:

  • Tax-free stipend per year (four years) – UKRI standard stipend, plus the additional London weighting for UCL candidates
  • Fully funded PhD/DPhil tuition
  • Project equipment & materials
  • Academic and industrial supervisors
  • Development programmes to support skill development to transition into industry after the programme is completed.

Notable Dates

Studentship application Deadline: 12:00 midday on 21st January 2022

Final interviews and appointments: mid-February

Start Date: September/October 2022

 

A webinar will take place for potential candidates at 5pm (UK time) on Thursday 13th January, 2022  – please register your place on the webinar registration page

 

If you are interested in applying to our programme, note all applications must be made through our academic partners:

University of Oxford

UCL

Proposed research themes for the ABViP CTP include:

  • Establishment of suspension adapted packaging /        producer cell lines to deliver higher efficiency                production – LV, as well as other viral vectors for         gene therapies and vaccines, for example,                       adenovirus (AV) and adeno-associated virus (AAV)
  • Viral vector delivery system optimisation and                 design
  • Improved understanding and optimisation of                 bioprocessing
  • Enhanced bioanalytics and improved assays for             viral vector characterisation
  • Application of digitalisation, AI and machine                 learning approaches to improve biological                     understanding and/or enhance productivity
  • Application of fundamental bioscience to improve       scale-up and production
  • Understanding and/or enhancing molecular                  pathways for vector production and/or assembly
  • Generation of biological insights resulting in                 improved viral vector targeting, tropism and/or             tissue specificity.
  • Understanding the biology to improve viral vector       design for gene therapy and vaccine applications
  • Understanding the immunological response to             viral vectors

Proposed research themes for the ABViP CTP include:

  • Establishment of suspension adapted packaging / producer cell lines to deliver higher efficiency production – LV, as well as other viral vectors for gene therapies and vaccines, for example, adenovirus (AV) and adeno-associated virus (AAV)
  • Viral vector delivery system optimisation and design
  • Improved understanding and optimisation of bioprocessing
  • Enhanced bioanalytics and improved assays for viral vector characterisation
  • Application of digitalisation, AI and machine learning approaches to improve biological understanding and/or enhance productivity
  • Application of fundamental bioscience to improve scale-up and production
  • Understanding and/or enhancing molecular pathways for vector production and/or assembly
  • Generation of biological insights resulting in improved viral vector targeting, tropism and/or tissue specificity.
  • Understanding the biology to improve viral vector design for gene therapy and vaccine applications
  • Understanding the immunological response to viral vectors