PhD Studentship: Generative Modelling for Foundational Discovery in Biomedicine University of Cambridge in United Kingdom

The Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute at the University of Cambridge is offering a fully funded PhD studentship in Generative Modelling for Foundational Discovery in Biomedicine, supervised by Dr Hana Aliee. This interdisciplinary project aims to advance machine learning methods for understanding complex biological systems, with a focus on developing probabilistic generative models and counterfactual reasoning frameworks. The research will contribute to the theory and practice of representation learning and causal reasoning in high-dimensional, multimodal biological data.

In the Aliee Group, students will explore fundamental questions in biomedicine, such as cellular responses to stimuli, patient variability in treatment outcomes, and the effects of genomic alterations. The project will involve improving the generalizability, interpretability, reasoning, and causal grounding of generative models, developing new optimisation algorithms with biologically meaningful regularisation and inductive biases, and integrating prior biological knowledge to enhance predictive and explanatory power.

Research areas include generative modelling (diffusion models, flow matching, self-supervised and autoregressive approaches), causal machine learning, graph neural networks, dynamical systems modelling (neural ODEs and SDEs), identifiability and interpretability, large language and sequence models, and multimodal data integration. The position is based at the CRUK Cambridge Institute, with close ties to the Department of Computer Science and Technology.

Applicants should have a strong background in machine learning, solid programming skills, and a keen interest in applying computational research to biology and medicine. A First or Upper Second Class degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a similar computational field is required. Prior knowledge of biology or medicine is not necessary, but relevant research experience through Master’s study or laboratory work is highly encouraged. Both UK and overseas students are eligible to apply.

The studentship provides full funding for University fees and an index-linked stipend starting at £22,500 per annum for four years. Applications are invited from recent graduates or final-year undergraduates. Supporting documents required include academic transcripts, evidence of English competence (if appropriate), CV/resume, and details of two academic referees.

To apply, candidates should use the University Applicant Portal, select to commence study in Lent Term (January) 2027, and ensure the project reference and supervisor are named in the application. The deadline for applications is 8th June 2026, with interviews expected in June/July 2026. For further information about the Aliee Group, visit the group website.