AstraZeneca Non-Clinical PhD Studentship in Development of an Integrated Pre-Clinical Pipeline for Safety Assessment of Small Molecule and Peptide-Based Radioconjugates
[4-year funded PhD studentship covering the student's stipend and tuition fees at the Home rate. Open to some overseas students if they meet UK residency requirements or can cover the additional international fee costs; self-funding of the fee difference is not allowed.]
The University of Cambridge, in partnership with AstraZeneca, is offering a funded PhD studentship in the Department of Radiology focused on the development of an integrated pre-clinical pipeline for the safety assessment of small molecule and peptide-based radioconjugates. The project centers on advanced molecular imaging and multimodal ex vivo tissue analysis, with a strong emphasis on in vivo PET imaging, radiopharmaceutical sciences, oncology, translational medicine, and drug development.
This studentship is designed for a motivated student interested in evaluating how next-generation radiopharmaceuticals distribute in the body and how potential toxicities in normal organs can be better understood before clinical translation. The work sits at the intersection of academia and industry, and the successful applicant will join a highly multidisciplinary team spanning the University of Cambridge and AstraZeneca. Supervision is provided by Professor Luigi Aloj, Dr Flaviu Bulat, Dr Nisha Kuzhuppilly Ramakrishnan, and Dr Andreas Dannhorn.
Applicants should have, or shortly expect to obtain, a first or high 2:1 bachelor's degree from a UK university or an equivalent overseas qualification in a relevant discipline such as imaging, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, biomedical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, data analysis, or medicine. The project is aimed at students who can work independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary research setting.
Funding is available for four years and covers the student's stipend and tuition fees at the Home rate. The studentship is also open to some overseas students if they meet UK residency requirements for Home fees or can secure funding for the additional international fee costs through scholarships or other funding schemes; self-funding of the fee difference is not allowed.
The application deadline is Friday 30 October 2026. Applicants should apply through the University of Cambridge application portal, selecting the PhD in Radiology and using the studentship title as the proposed project title. A separate research proposal is not required; instead, applicants should upload a one-page motivation statement outlining their reasons for applying, relevant skills, expected outcomes, and long-term career aspirations. Informal project enquiries may be sent to Professor Luigi Aloj at [email protected], and application process queries may be directed to [email protected].
