Royal Holloway is a member of the London Interdisciplinary Biosciences Consortium (LIDo) Doctoral Landscape Scheme which offers PhD studentships within the remit of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
What is LIDo?
The London Interdisciplinary Biosciences Consortium is an exciting collaboration between eight of London's world-class universities and specialist institutions to provide PhD training. The consortium provides students with a unique opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary research in projects which tackle important, complex problems in bioscience and biotechnology by integrating experimental techniques with advanced computational methods including artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science and modelling.
What is the LIDo Consortium?
The LIDo consortium comprises: King's College London, University College London, Queen Mary University of London, Royal Veterinary College, Birkbeck, University of London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Royal Holloway, University of London and University of Greenwich's Natural Resources Institute. Researchers from various departments of all these institutions will offer projects. Once admitted to the LIDo programme you will be able to choose from projects at these institutions.
What Type of PhD's Does LIDo Offer?
LIDo provides fully funded PhD Studentships that last 4 years. It has two routes of entry: Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) and Industrial Co-operative Awards in Science & Engineering (iCASE)
DTP students will undertake two 4-month research projects, that they select from a catalogue of over 200 topics. They then finalise their choice of PhD topic after the second rotation project. Research opportunities are available across the breadth of BBSRC remit (from molecular biology to plant breeding to cognitive neuroscience). All DTP students undertake a compulsory 3-month internship (PIPS) during their PhD to gain experience and context for careers where the transferable skills developed during their PhD programme can usefully employed.
iCASE students begin working on their named project from the start of the course. These projects represent genuine partnerships between academics within the LIDo consortium and industrial colleagues, allowing students to experience both distinctive environments in a mutually productive and supportive team and an extended placement of 3-18 months with their non-academic partner.
Exemplar DTP projects can be found on the LIDo website. Supervisors form the Royal Holloway departments of Biology, Psychology, Earth Sciences, Computer Science, Geography, and Health Studies regularly contribute projects to the LIDo catalogue. If you would like to know if a particular supervisor in any of these departments is planning to submit to the catalogue, feel free to approach them directly for an enquiry.
For September 2025 LIDo is offering 35 fully funded studentships across DTP and iCASE routes for entry; these include tuition fees and a tax-free stipend at UKRI level and an additional London weighting supplement. A limited number of positions can be offered to students eligible for overseas fee rates, where the full fee amount will be covered.
How do I Apply to LIDo?
LIDo has a centralized admission process which selects students on their aptitude for and experience in research. The applications website has a lot of information about how to make a compelling application. Note that candidates do not apply to a specific project, bur to the programme. LIDo is driven by project choice and project allocation follows after admission to the programme.
LIDO enthusiastically invites applications from highly motivated students from a wide range of academic backgrounds including biological, psychological, physical, computational, engineering or mathematical disciplines. Applicants must hold, or be expected to achieve, a first or high upper second-class honours degree (or equivalent), or an MSci or other Masters degree.
LIDo has a strong record of recruiting and supporting students from under-represented or disadvantaged backgrounds. Likewise, we at Royal Holloway, University of London are also eager to invite applications from students of all backgrounds to join our diverse cohorts.
For details on how to apply, guidance on the application process, and the link to our online application form please go to the LIDo website. Details on the application process can be found in "Application Guidance for Prospective Students". You will see there the type of student LIDo is interested in and also how to shape your application.
Please note that the LIDo application portal is open for a shorter window this year and closes with an earlier deadline of 11 December 2024. If you are interested in applying, please ensure you do so before the deadline. Please also note, as part of your application references will need to have been received from your nominated referees before the deadline, so do not leave this until the last minute.
