There are two schemes through which our academics may work alongside a Crick PI to supervise a student: the PhD programme (two routes: joint HEI-Crick funded and core-Crick funded), plus the Doctoral Clinical Fellows scheme. For a discussion about supervision opportunities, or to register your interest, please contact the Crick-Imperial Partnership Manager, Dr Corinne Hanlon.

The content on this page is for academics interested hosting a student, submitting a project proposal and/or undertaking supervision duties. For individuals and clinicians wishing to undertake a PhD, please see the regular PhD programme and Doctoral Clinical Fellows sections of this site.

PhD Programme: jointly HEI-Crick funded

When: The call for joint HEI-Crick funded PhD project proposals usually opens to academics in May and closes in mid-June.

Apply: If your department opts-in to this scheme, you will be notified in May 2023 that the call for joint project proposals is open via departmental comms.

More information: As part of this scheme, the HEI and Crick academics work together to produce a joint project proposal and once recruited to, act as co-primary supervisors with equal scientific input. The host department covers the tuition fees and 50% of costs (stipend and consumables). The student would be based at the Crick and encouraged to be part of the Imperial College London community. There may be the opportunity for the student to spend some time in their HEI supervisor’s lab.

Full details on the Crick PhD Programme are available on the Crick website.

PhD Programme: core-Crick funded

When: The call to express your interest in being a second supervisor for a 2023-entry core-Crick funded project is open from 26 January until 9 March 2023.

Apply: To be considered by Crick Group Leaders as a second supervisor during project recruitment, please inform the Crick-Imperial Partnership Manager, Dr Corinne Hanlon.

More information: As part of this scheme, the Crick academic has ownership of the science and direction of the project. They will also be responsible for the project proposal. The Crick asks that HEI academics act as a ‘second supervisor’ although the Crick definition of this role is slightly different to that used by HEIs. As a second supervisor to a core-Crick funded project, you would be a member of the Thesis Committee and would have little input on the science and direction of the project, and no input on the project proposal. Instead, your role is to ensure that the project is progressing satisfactorily, meeting all milestones and to have oversight of the student’s wellbeing.

The host department covers the tuition fees but does not contribute towards the project costs (stipend and consumables). The student would be based at the Crick and encouraged to be part of the Imperial College London community. This role allows our academics to foster links with the Crick community. 

To view the core-Crick funded projects that are available for students to apply to, and which may require a HEI second supervisor, please visit the Crick’s website.

Doctoral Clinical Fellows 

When: Preparations for Imperial involvement with projects starting in the academic year of 2024/25 commenced in March 2023.

Apply: To inform Crick Group Leaders that you are interested in being as a second supervisor to a 2024-entry project, add your details to the Crick Expression of Interest form before Monday 24 April 2023.

The call for project proposals will be open from May to June 2023 and this webpage will be updated accordingly with further instructions.

The call for applicants to apply for a Fellowship will open in October 2023 and will be advertised on the College’s Doctoral Clinical Fellows webpage. Interviews will be held in January 2024 and Fellows will start in late September 2024.

More information: Doctoral Clinical Fellows carry out exciting research projects while following the Crick's clinical PhD programme over a three-year period rather than the traditional four-years. Fellows are based at the Crick with a Crick primary supervisor and a HEI secondary supervisor.

Fellows may spend some time in their secondary supervisor’s group at the university as appropriate. The primary and secondary supervisors may define the level of input expected from the secondary supervisor eg if they will join the Fellow’s thesis committee or be more involved in the science of the project and therefore not join the thesis committee. It is possible to define a project where scientific input is split equally between the Crick and HEI.

Fellows will be registered for their PhD at, and normally employed by, the partner university which also provides appropriate clinical links for the fellows. The host department is reimbursed by the Crick for salary and tuition fees.

Further information about the scheme can be found on the Crick’s website. The list of projects on offer through the 2022 call for 2023/24 entry are on the Crick’s Doctoral Clinical Fellows’ positions website.

Our Doctoral Clinical Fellows: The following individuals have been awarded Doctoral Clinical Fellowships featuring second supervisors from Imperial College London.

• Lesley Sheach with Michael Way (Crick) and Hani Gabra (Department of Surgery and Cancer), 2016.
• Robert Gray with Luiz de Carvalho (Crick) and Ed Tate (Department of Chemistry), 2019.
• Maddalena Cerrone, Elucidating protective mechanisms of T-cell responses against tuberculosis in human cohorts, Robert Wilkinson (Crick) and Xiao-Ning Xu (Department of Infectious Disease), 2019.
• Stefania Drymiotou, Oncolytic Vaccinia virus therapy of ovarian cancer: finding novel targets for combination therapies, Michael Way (Crick) and Iain McNeish (Department of Surgery and Cancer), 2020.
• Shuli Svetitsky, Inflammation associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, Rupert Beale (Crick) and Wendy Barclay (Department of Infectious Disease), 2021.
• Timesh Pillay, Structural and biochemical analysis of Salmonella effector functions and their interaction with host proteins, Katrin Rittinger (Crick) and Theresa Thurston (Department of Infectious Disease), 2021.
• Rebecca Hulbert with Victor Tybulewicz (Crick) and Andreia Bernardo (National Heart and Lung Institute), 2022.
• James Barnacle with Robert Wilkinson (Crick) and Brian Robertson (Department of Infectious Disease), 2022.

Selected profiles of some of the Crick Doctoral Clinical Fellows can be viewed on the Crick website.