Program Overview

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Research in our School of Life Sciences covers a wide spectrum of biology from genes to ecosystems, and this broad-based structure provides opportunities for developing novel ideas and inter-disciplinary projects. We offer supervision in all areas of staff expertise in biochemistry, and our projects encompass studies of fundamental biochemical mechanisms as well as the biochemical basis of disease states. As a research student at Essex, you will work at the heart of our internationally acknowledged, well-resourced and well-connected research community. We offer world-class supervision and training opportunities, and encourage you to engage with other researchers, professionals, practitioners and research users, where possible, for example using the generous funding from Proficio to attend conferences and training courses. A PhD and MPhil are also available. Both full- and part-time study can be supported, and you can start this course in either January, April or October. Why we're great.

• We have an international reputation for outstanding teaching and research
• You will be part of our collaborative Research Groups that work on important international and national problems using cutting-edge techniques
• The quality of our work is reflected in the large number of publications in high-profile academic journals our staff feature in

Our expert staff

Within our School of Life Sciences, you will be allocated a supervisor whose role it is to guide you through the different stages of your research degree. In some cases, you may have joint supervision by two members of our staff. The support provided by your supervisor is a key feature of your research student experience and you will have regular one-to-one meetings to discuss progress on your research. Initially, your supervisor will help you develop your research topic and plan. Twice a year, you will have a supervisory board meeting, which provides a more formal opportunity to discuss your progress and agree your plans for the next six months.

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Specialist facilities

Our School is fully equipped to perform cutting-edge biochemical research using a combination of conventional and custom designed apparatus including:

• circular dichroism to monitor secondary structures including chemical and thermal denaturation
• stopped flow optical/fluorescence and laser flash photolysis set-ups for kinetic analysis of enzyme reactions and ligand binding
• extensive facilities for UV/visible
  ear infra-red and fluorescence spectroscopy from isolated samples and for proteins within cells
• a microcal isothermal titration calorimetry instrument for deriving the thermodynamics of protein ligand binding
• surface plasmon resonance (SPR) facilities to permit the study of a range of biomolecular interactions
• extensive protein production and purification facilities
• potential access to state-of-the-art facilities for protein structure elucidation, including Diamond Light Source, Swiss Light Source and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble

A dedicated study room allows all our postgraduate research students to have access to a desk and a computer outside of the research laboratories. This provides a focal point for our postgraduates, facilitating reading and writing as well as good communication and a sense of community.

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Your future

Many of our research degree graduates choose to continue their scientific research others have embarked on careers in biomedical laboratories and in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, both in research and development. Visit our careers page for more information.