Asthma, Allergy & Lung Biology (AALB) (Research Division)

Students each work on individual projects, within established teams of researchers, supervised by the principal investigator of the group and with laboratory supervision on a day-to-day basis. Students are expected to submit their thesis within four years of the start of their studies and to achieve this will need to work at least 09.00-17.00 on a daily basis.

Graduate research students work alongside basic science and clinical researchers of all levels and training backgrounds. Projects span basic and clinical science topics allied to respiratory diseases including asthma, rhinitis and chronic obstructive airways disease and are offered at Guy's Hospital, St Thomas' Hospital and Denmark Hill campuses. The division is also part of the MRC and Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma (in conjunction with Imperial College), so students can benefit from the synergy created by the collaboration in this area of science between two outstanding Colleges in London. The Centre is the only MRC Centre in Asthma and Allergy in the UK.

All students have two supervisors and a Higher Degree Co-ordinator. Registration is for MPhil initially and upgrade to PhD occurs at nine months following completion of an 8,000-word report, oral presentation and viva-voce. We run an active programme of external seminar speakers and technology-orientated weekly journal clubs to supplement the core training provided by PhD projects and the generic/transferable skills from the Graduate School. Students also regularly present their goals and findings to a broad interdepartmental audience at research-inprogress meetings as well as externally at national and international meetings.