Projects
2025-26 MRC LID POTENTIAL RESEARCH PROJECTS
MRC LID is offering 42 distinct potential projects for the 2025-26 studentship application round. These are listed below.
Details about each project, including links to the supervisors, additional eligibility criteria and prerequisite academic and/or skills requirements, are available via the project title link below.
Each project is supervised by a minimum of two academics.
Where projects are are co-supervised across the DTP (i.e. have a supervisor at each institution) students would be primarily registered with the institution where the first named supervisor is based.
Some projects have the potential to be converted to a CASE/iCASE Studentship. This will be noted on the project page where applicable.
Each potential project addresses at least one of the four overarching themes of the DTP and provides training in at least one of the MRC’s core skills areas.
A summary of the 2025-26 Projects listed below is also available as a searchable spreadsheet.
(Applicants must still access the project-specific pages for the full details and available relevant information on their selected project.)
Project: A new approach to understanding the role of tumour microenvironment in anticancer drug resistance
Supervisors: Dr Elena Sviderskaya & Professor Yuri Korchev & Dr Kenneth Laing
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Activity and toxicity of AI-Driven Antimicrobial Peptides Against WHO Priority Pathogens
Supervisors: Dr Kai Hilpert & Dr Dan Osborn & Dr Axel Nothurfft
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Advancing genotype-phenotype correlations with Multiplex Assays of Variant Effect
Supervisors: Dr Chris Carroll & Dr Alan Pittman
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Advancing neglected Plasmodium genomics through cutting-edge sequencing and AI-driven approaches to strengthen malaria control strategies
Supervisors: Professor Taane Clark & Professor Susana Campino
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) gene transfer in Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): mechanisms and dynamics using clinical isolates
Supervisors: Professor Jodi Lindsay & Dr Gwen Knight
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Antimicrobial resistance: what happens with age and by sex?
Supervisors: Dr Gwen Knight & Dr Catrin Moore & Dr Naomi Waterlow
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Assessing the safety of antibiotics for urinary tract infections in pregnancy using routinely collected data
Supervisors: Professor Joan Morris & Dr Liza Bowen & Professor Krishnan Bhaskaran
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Assessing tuberculosis vaccine efficacy using subclinical disease outcomes
Supervisors: Dr Tom Sumner & Dr Rebecca Clark
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Bridging the Menstrual Health Gap: Developing and Validating Tools to Assess Menstrual Health in Individuals with Learning Disabilities
Supervisors: Dr Jane Wilbur & Dr Sarah Polack & Dr Katie Greenland
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Characterising infection immunity and pharmacokinetics in HIV-associated pneumocystis pneumonia
Supervisors: Professor Rajko Reljic & Dr Sean Wasserman & Professor Joe Jarvis & Dr Rachel Lai
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Combining epidemiological, immunological and climatic data to understand and predict vector-borne epidemics
Supervisors: Professor Adam Kucharski & Professor Rachel Lowe
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Cost effectiveness and value of implementation of a hypertension management programme in Sub Saharan Africa
Supervisors: Dr Adrianna Murphy & Professor Pablo Perel & Dr Zia Sadique
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Cumulative effects of gender inequality on chronic disease and mortality risk across the life course
Supervisors: Dr Helen Harris-Fry & Professor Tim Powell-Jackson
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Defining chronic intracellular mechanisms of persistence driving mycobacterial disease
Supervisors: Professor Tim Bull & Dr Terry Kipkorir & Dr José Saldaña
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Developing a health-specific framework to validate system dynamics and agent-based models used in public health modelling
Supervisors: Professor Anna Foss & Dr Sharif Ismail
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Developing a novel model of mycobacterial infection to study human granulomatous disease
Supervisors: Dr Dan Osborn & Dr Deborah Chong
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Developing Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccines in Stable Nicotiana tabacum: Advancing Plant-Based Solutions for Accessible Immunization
Supervisors: Dr Audrey Teh & Professor Rajko Reljic
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Developing novel diagnostics for the management of Dengue fever in a new era of pandemic preparedness
Supervisors: Dr Henry Staines & Professor Sanjeev Krishna
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Development of a novel and affordable vaccine for worldwide elimination of hepatitis A virus
Supervisors: Dr Elisabetta Groppelli & Professor Julian Ma
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Differential impacts of climate on health among migrant and ethnic minoritised groups in the UK and Brazil
Supervisors: Dr Julia Moreira Pescarini & Dr Nuria Sanchez Clemente & Professor Neil Pearce
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Effect of heterogeneity in vaccine hesitancy on the impact of tuberculosis vaccines in South Africa
Supervisors: Dr Nicky McCreesh & Dr Rebecca Clark & Professor Richard White
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Epidemiological modelling of the impact and mitigation of climate change on tuberculosis
Supervisors: Dr Finn McQuaid & Professor Rein Houben
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Evaluating the burden and risk factors of infectious diseases among newly arrived migrants in the UK, and exploring healthcare models to enhance infectious disease prevention
Supervisors: Professor Sally Hargreaves & Dr Nicky Longley & Dr Farah Seedat
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Identify Novel Biomarkers for Ageing
Supervisors: Dr Soo-Hyun Kim & Dr Constantino Carlos Reyes-Aldasoro & Dr Tom Barrick
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: High-dimensional approaches for addressing confounding in vaccine research using routinely collected electronic health data
Supervisors: Dr John Tazare & Dr Helen McDonald & Dr Elizabeth Wlliamson
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Long-term safety of glucocorticoids across treatments modalities
Supervisors: Dr Julian Matthewman & Professor Sinéad Langan
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Maternal Tuberculosis and Offspring Health: A Nationwide Study in Brazil
Supervisors: Dr Enny Paixao Cruz & Dr Julia Pescarini & Dr Thiago Cerqueira Silva
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Modelling the kinetics of immunity to influenza and SARS-CoV-2 in different populations
Supervisors: Dr David Hodgson & Professor Adam Kucharski
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Mpox in Uganda: establishing existing immunity and characterising the immunological response to vaccination in pregnant women
Supervisors: Professor Kirsty Le Doare & Dr Elisabetta Groppelli & Dr Nuria Sanchez Clemente
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Nutrition and cardiovascular risk reduction for youth in Zimbabwe
Supervisors: Professor Julia Critchley & Dr Angie Donin & Dr Aoife Doyle
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Prediction of dementia from population-wide neuroimaging data using novel brain age techniques
Supervisors: Dr Tom Barrick & Dr Jeremy Isaacs & Professor Franklyn Howe
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Risk prediction models for adverse pregnancy outcomes amongst at risk pregnant women
Supervisors: Professor Cari Free & Professor Asma Khalil & Dr Alex Lewin
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Sex differences in asthma in children and adolescents
Supervisors: Dr Lucy Pembrey & Dr Charlotte Rutter & Professor Phil Cooper
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: The epidemiology and dynamics of antifungal resistant Candida acquisition and transmission within ICU settings in high burden Southern African countries
Supervisors: Professor Tom Harrison & Dr Síle Molloy & Professor Joe Jarvis
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: The impact of Caesarean section on childhood health
Supervisors: Dr Orlagh Carroll & Dr Enny Paixao Cruz
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: The prevalence of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use in patients with bacterial infections over fifteen years (2010-2025) and interactions with demographic indicators and climate change globally
Supervisors: Dr Catrin Moore & Dr Naomi Waterlow & Professor Charlotte Clark
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: The role of non-genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection in autoimmunity
Supervisors: Professor Tariq Sadiq & Professor Rajko Reljic
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Trained immunity, tissue destruction and novel approaches to treatment in Tuberculosis
Supervisors: Dr Deborah Chong & Professor Jon Friedland
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London
Project: Understanding drug resistance in key Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug targets using multiplex saturation mutagenesis and AI protein large language models
Supervisors: Dr Nicholas Furnham & Dr Richard Wall
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Understanding the Evolution of Antimalarial Drug and Insecticide Resistance: Insights from Genomic and Epigenomic Approaches
Supervisors: Professor Susana Campino & Professor Taane Clark
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Understanding the impact of vaccination on the spread of antibiotic resistance using phylogenetics
Supervisors: Professor Katie Atkins & Dr Stéphane Hué
Primary Institution: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Project: Unravelling novel signalling pathways for inflammation in osteoarthritis development and pain
Supervisors: Professor Nidhi Sofat & Dr Anissa Chikh & Dr Joe Westaby
Primary Institution: St George’s, University of London