DTP Bid Led by Institute of Cancer Research

This grant funds doctoral training, not a specific research project. It provides the infrastructure for a cohort of PhD students to be trained at the Institute of Cancer Research. The problem it addresses is the need for a skilled scientific workforce. Cancer research depends on a pipeline of talented early-career scientists who can move from fundamental biology into clinical applications. Without sustained training programmes, the UK risks losing its capacity to develop new treatments and diagnostics. If successful, this training partnership will produce a generation of researchers equipped to work across disciplines—from molecular biology to data science and drug development. These are the people who will design clinical trials, identify new drug targets, and improve how existing therapies are used. The impact is not a single discovery but a sustained capability: a steady supply of scientists who can keep the UK’s cancer research ecosystem running. This is primarily an education and skills investment. It does not aim to answer a specific scientific question. Instead, it builds the human infrastructure that makes future breakthroughs possible—much as past training programmes have produced the researchers behind today’s cancer treatments.