Optical Biology

Overview

The Optical Biology programme at University College London (UCL) brings together life scientists, physicists, chemists and computational scientists at UCL, with world-leading industrial and academic partners, to deliver an integrated training programme in the most advanced optical methods and analysis tools.

Optical Biology is an interdisciplinary field which involves developing new optical technology for studying the interaction of light (i.e. photons) with biological organisms, tissues, cells, and molecules in order to solve fundamental open questions in biology.

The foundation of your career

The unique identity of this programme lies in its combination of world class biomedical researchers partnering with outstanding engineers, physicists, chemists and computer scientists from academia and industry to create the first, wide-ranging and cohesive optical biology training programme. 

It will equip students to tackle major biological problems across scales, by training them in the use and development of optical methods and applying them in a range of model systems. Career development is supported by 'career transition placements' provided to facilitate the transition from PhD to the next workplace destination.

Employability

Our unique programme will enable PhD students to achieve their full potential, challenging them intellectually, while providing the technical and personal support required to ensure their success. Hand-picked PhD committees and our emphasis on building and maintaining a strong sense of cohort, in addition to integration with the wider student body, will all serve to create a highly supportive environment. 

At the end of their training, students' career progression will be supported along multiple paths via 'career transition placements' ensuring the students successful transition continues to their next destination in industry or academia.