All Life Sciences academic staff are encouraged to participate in research, and projects are funded from a variety of sources – including research councils, the European Union and charitable and industrial sponsors. We have an exceptional programme of training through a specialist course: Postgraduate research skills in science, technology, maths and computing (STM895) that provides an organised and structured means by which students can both assess their research skills and plan the development and acquisition of these skills during the course of their PhD.
Supervisors in the Life Sciences Department will consider applications for part-time study that fall broadly within their areas of expertise, even if they don’t correspond exactly with the topics described below. It’s unlikely that laboratory facilities can be made available to part-time students, so you should not consider laboratory-based projects unless you already work in a laboratory that would allow facilities for your research, or unless you can make arrangements to use other laboratory facilities in your vicinity.
The Department of Biological Sciences provides a lively and expanding research environment for postgraduate research students. There are over 111 people in the department, including 33 academic staff. Research is in the areas of neuroscience, immunology and cell biology, molecular genetics, ageing, animal behaviour, biopsychology, cognitive psychology, biodiversity, ecology and evolution. Our research is supported by the BBSRC, MRC, Royal Society, MS Society, NERC, Wellcome Trust, Leverhulme Trust, the European Union and others.
The department has a full suite of recently modernised laboratories with extensive behavioural facilities, cell culture facilities, electron and confocal microscopes, image analysis and histological facilities. The laboratories are equipped for genetic manipulation, cell and molecular biology including DNA sequencing and quantitative PCR, electrophysiology, tissue culture, FACS analysis and standard biochemical techniques. The laboratories and equipment are supported by a team of twelve specialist technicians and project officers.
Cognitive psychology research facilities support both lab-based and web-based data collection, each mode supported by its own participant panel. Laboratory facilities include state-of-the-art sound-proofed booths, a suite of general purpose computers equipped with EPrime, and ancillary equipment. The virtual participant panel for online studies is an innovation providing access to large numbers of students and other participants at a distance.
The department holds several seminar and journal club series, and monthly research-in-progress meetings. All students have full access to computing equipment, facilities for preparing material for presentations, and well-stocked central and departmental libraries. As part of a structured PhD training programme, students receive full training in both research skills and specialist techniques. You can find details of all laboratory facilities, research groups and currently available positions on this website.
Approximately six full-time studentship positions are advertised annually. Each of these studentships is allocated to specific projects and supervisors. Applicants should respond to advertisements directly to the department. Unless otherwise stated, these studentships will be based at the Walton Hall campus in Milton Keynes, and funding may not be available for other projects. We do not normally accept part-time students for laboratory-based projects. Preliminary enquiries concerning studentships in biological psychology/cognitive sciences should be addressed to psych-res-apps@open.ac.uk .
Download the Research Degrees Prospectus
Departmental contact Heather Holden
Phone +44 (0)1908 653225
For a more detailed list of research areas and for research groups go to the <Research> <Prospectus> tabs.
