The Institute of Chemical Biology EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (ICB CDT) at Imperial College London is offering a fully funded 4-year PhD studentship starting October 2026, focused on 'Synthetic Cells for Cancer Therapeutics.' This innovative project is co-sponsored by the EPSRC CDT in Chemical Biology and the CRUK Convergence Science Centre, and will be supervised by Professor Oscar Ces, Dr Adam Sharp, Professor Charlotte Bevan, and Dr James Hindley. The research aims to develop programmable synthetic cells as advanced therapeutic delivery systems for prostate cancer. By engineering cell-like nanorobots capable of sensing tumour-specific signals and releasing apoptotic drugs targeting MCL1, the project seeks to achieve precise, tumour-specific treatment with reduced systemic toxicity. The work integrates cutting-edge techniques in microfluidics, microscopy, automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to design, manufacture, and optimise synthetic cell therapeutics. These approaches have potential applications across a range of cancers and other diseases. Successful candidates will participate in both the ICB CDT TechExpert training programme and the CRUK Convergence Science Centre training programme, gaining interdisciplinary skills at the interface of chemical biology, biomedical engineering, and computational science. The project is ideal for students interested in synthetic biology, nanorobotics, drug delivery, and translational cancer research. Eligibility is restricted to candidates with Home fee status in the UK. Applicants should have a strong academic background in chemical biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, or related fields, and experience or interest in microfluidics, microscopy, automation, AI, or machine learning is desirable. The studentship covers tuition fees and provides a stipend for the duration of the programme. For further details and application instructions, visit the ICB CDT website or the provided LinkedIn links. The application deadline is Friday, 30th January 2026, at 5pm.