Research Project - Part III Systems Biology course 2021-2022

If you would like to act as a supervisor and offer a project, please send a title and brief (one paragraph) project description to Helen Schwarz (sysbiol-admin@gen.cam.ac.uk ) by Mon 6th September.

If you have any questions contact Prof. Gos Micklem (gm263@cam.ac.uk)

Important information:

Given that the pandemic is not over yet we must be cautious about wet lab projects, mindful of the need to comply with any local requirements including risk assessments, and the possibility that changing Government and University policies may force projects to become dry at any time. Therefore, any wet project proposals must include a contingency to switch to dry work and it may be wiser to plan on fully dry projects from the start. 

Systems Biology is a Masters level undergraduate degree that attracts students from various departments and faculties across the University. There are 25 students registered for the course this year, with 6 from the Mathematics Tripos, one each from physics and chemistry NST, and the remaining 17 from biology (5 Biochemistry, 2 Genetics, 2 Pathology, 3 PDN, 1 Pharmacology, 2 Plant sciences, 1 PNB, 1 Zoology). 

Students undertake their 12-week research projects in the Michaelmas and Lent terms, beginning in November after the lectures and practical sessions are complete, with the rest of Michaelmas dedicated to full-time project work. In Lent the students have lectures in the mornings but are largely free to work on their projects in the afternoons. The final project write-ups (which contribute 30% to the final degree mark) are submitted at the end of April. To contribute towards any costs associated with hosting the project the course will provide up to £250 (dry), £500 (mixed) or £750 (wet). 

Dry projects may involve analysis of existing datasets, participating in the analysis of newly generated data, modelling, or any other systems-related work: we accept a wide range of projects using computational or mathematical approaches. If in doubt, please ask.