Engineering Biology

The first year will be divided into three segments.

The first segment will begin with induction weeks in both Bristol and Oxford. You will then receive around four weeks of foundation training (in Oxford). Students with a background in life sciences or engineering/physical sciences will receive foundation training in engineering or biology, respectively.

This will be followed by around six weeks of specialised training in engineering biology at the University of Bristol. It will include training in engineering biology design across scales (from biomolecules to cells), and advanced topics such as:

• Modelling and control theory
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Gene circuit design
• Protein design and engineering
• Tissue engineering.

During the first four weeks of the second segment, you will work on your innovation in engineering biology group projects. This will be followed by the first of two individual short research projects.

Segment three will comprise the second of these research projects and a summer school. Research will aim to align with four major focus areas:

• Robust methods for bioengineering;
• Rational biomolecular & biosystems design;
• Evolution-guided biodesign;
• Digital cells and AI.

Potential collaborative research projects will also be offered by the University of Oxford.

One of the two short research projects will typically develop into the substantive PhD project that you will work on throughout years two to four.

Full details of the structure and unit content for the first year will be available soon in the unit and programme catalogue.

We welcome applications from candidates who aspire to work in a multidisciplinary field.

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their international equivalent: a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in engineering, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, medicine or related disciplines.

See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.

We cover the breadth of Engineering Biology and strongly encourage cross-disciplinary research projects.                  

Research will align with four major focus areas:

• Robust methods for bioengineering. Ensuring the safe and reliable function of engineered biosystems is of paramount importance for effective translation towards commercial applications. This theme will consider the integration of control engineering methodologies within the context of EngBio and explore the in silico and in vivo implementation of control algorithms to ensure reliable functions are maintained in complex and varying real-world environments. Exemplar project areas include: developing robotic platforms to automate and accelerate biodesign and prototyping; feedback control-based drug regimen design for cancer treatment; engineering of robust biocontrollers for metabolic engineering; resource-aware gene network design.
• Rational biomolecular & biosystems design. Improvements in computational design can facilitate de novo design of biomolecules and their predictable assembly into larger, functional biosystems. This theme will build on advances in nanotechnology, structural modelling of proteins, and molecular dynamics to push the boundaries of rational biomolecular design for specific applications. Exemplar project areas include: nanoparticle-based vaccine design; metamaterials design and engineering; blood-cell engineering; synthetic protocells; high precision micro- and nano-encapsulation for healthcare.
• Evolution-guided biodesign. A characteristic of biology is its ability to evolve. However, evolution is often overlooked in EngBio. This theme will tackle this issue by demonstrating the unavoidable impact of evolution on the stability and function of biological designs, present methodologies to assess and design for evolution by either reducing the impact of evolutionary changes to increase the robustness of engineered biosystems, or by harnessing evolution itself as part of the design process (for example, directed evolution). Exemplar project areas include: evolution-aware biodesign workflows; directed evolution of bacteriophage to address antimicrobial resistance; evolvable cellular communities for healthcare; evolution-guided enzyme design.
• Digital cells and AI. Digital science is transforming how we approach biological design. This theme will build on advances in large mathematical models of entire cellular processes (for example, transcription, translation, and metabolism), as well as new data-centric approaches founded on AI and machine learning for the digital design of biological systems. Exemplar project areas include: generative AI approaches to de novo peptide and protein design; whole-cell model and AI-guided chassis design; design of microbial communities for energy recovery from waste water; development of mechano-chemical models for engineering wound healing in living tissues.