Work and Train in the IMSR

Man conducting research in a laboratory

We are passionate about delivering outstanding education as well as world-leading research. Find out more about our opportunities below.

Current Vacancies

Research Fellow

The successful candidate will manage the Metabolic Tracer Analysis Core, a research facility directed by Professor Daniel Tennant. MTAC specialises in facilitating research into metabolic pathway use in human health and disease through the analysis of metabolites from extracts of biological samples (cells, tissues, biofluids) that have been exposed to stable isotope-enriched nutrients.

The post holder will also join the Tennant Research Group, a dynamic and exciting team that focus on understanding changes in the metabolic network in cancer through the use of stable isotope-guided tracing of nutrient use. The post holder will have the opportunity to design novel analytical methods to support research in the Tennant Research Group and its collaborators, help shape their research, and lead the development of the MTAC facility.

Closing date: 10 November 2022

Find out more and apply

Summer Studentships

The Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, an interdisciplinary research institute, is always committed to training the next generation of scientists and has a very successful Summer School which runs between June and August.

Participants of the IMSR Summer School 2019The IMSR Summer School, led by Dr Paul Foster and Dr Vicki Smith, is a unique opportunity to get hands-on experience on how metabolism and endocrinology affects disease.

The school provides an invaluable opportunity to do scientific research and to bolster student CVs. Some of our past summer students have found their experience so rewarding they have returned to intercalate or to take their PhDs at the University of Birmingham.

In 2021, the IMSR Summer School cohort fought off tough competition to join the department and work with our Principle Investigators (PIs) on individual projects. The students, from the University of Birmingham, studied Biomedical Science, Medicine, and Biochemistry and spent six-eight weeks in the IMSR, learning basic techniques, attending a weekly Journal Club and having the opportunity to participate in IMSR seminars and activities. We take students from any higher education institute nationally and internationally. 

We are grateful to the Society for Endocrinology for providing funding for the summer studentship programme.

Society for Endocrinology logo

 

 

 

Applications

Applications for the IMSR Summer School 2022 are now closed.

Who is eligible to apply?

Students should currently be an undergraduate and must not be in their final year of study. We encourage students from any biological/chemical field to apply, including from Medicine (MBChB), Biomedical Sciences (BMedSci), Biochemical Engineering, Biosciences, Biochemistry and Pharmacy (MPharm).

Is any funding available to support Summer School students?

Funding is not necessary to apply, however students who are accepted into the IMSR should be prepared to apply for funding. Students will be encouraged to work with their supervisors to help identify potential internal and external funding to support living and/or associated research costs. However, failure to obtain funding should not impact on the student's placement.

What about the Covid Pandemic? Will this affect the summer school?

The coronavirus pandemic caused us to cancel summer school in 2020. However, we ran a successful summer school in 2021. Therefore, we anticipate that even if some restrictions remain to our laboratories in the summer of 2022, we will be able to offer a number of unique laboratory research projects.

 

For questions regarding any aspect of the IMSR Summer School please contact Dr Paul Foster or Dr Vicki Smith 

For more information about our researchers

Read more about the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research and the IMSR Principal Investigators

Here are some comments from previous IMSR summer students:

Past summer school students speaking about their experiences

 

 

 

 

 

 

Masters by Research Studentships

The Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, an interdisciplinary research institute, is always committed to training the next generation of scientists.

 The Institute hosts students registered for a research masters degree in the UK or Europe to complete projects that can be written up for a masters thesis. The students work for a period of up to 12 months in a host laboratory within the Institute.

Interested students should contact IMSR group leaders directly.

View more information on IMSR Principal Investigators and their research.

Undergraduate courses

The Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR) is committed to training excellent scientists and healthcare professionals, with a strong ethos of delivering outstanding undergraduate teaching underpinned by cutting-edge research, in line with the University of Birmingham 2026 vision.

IMSR staff participate in the delivery of several UG programmes including MBChB, BSc Biomedical Science (BSc), MPharm, BDS, and the intercalated BSc Clinical Sciences. In addition, IMSR staff contributes to UG teaching for the School of Biosciences.

IMSR staff regularly serve as personal tutors for students on the MBChB, BMedSc and MPharm programmes, contribute to MBChB Year 1 research taster sessions and supervise electives and audit projects of MBChB students. IMSR staff regularly supervise final year dissertation projects for BMedSc and intercalated BMedSc Clinical Sciences students.

To find out more about our undergraduate courses, please visit the College of Medical and Dental Sciences. 

Postgraduate Taught courses

To find out more about our postgraduate taught courses, please visit the College of Medical and Dental Sciences.