EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Accelerated Medicines Design & Development

Future pharmaceutical leaders

The EPSRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Accelerated Medicines Design & Development (AMD&D) will train doctoral-level scientists to be the future research leaders of the pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors. In an integrated academia-industry-clinical partnership, the AMD&D CDT will train a new generation of researchers to accelerate medicines development, ensuring they are able to meet three major challenges:

To accelerate medicines design, applying hybrid approaches of experimental and computational methods to optimise critical formulation attributes;
To apply leading-edge analytics to early product design; and,
To advance the understanding of medicines' performance in vivo.

The CDT is a partnership between the School of Pharmacy at University College London (UCL) and University of Nottingham. It builds on previous highly successful CDTs in Targeted Therapeutics; Advanced Therapeutics & Nanomedicines and Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies. It is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with additional contributions from the university, clinical and industry partners.

We give our students a great start to their careers as leaders in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry by providing the following:

Access to strong collaborations with industry
Collaborations with multiple institutions
Access to integrated research training programmes
Participation in the design and development of their PhD research project
Becoming part of highly competitive and prestigious research groups

Both Universities will be accepting new intakes of students annually from October 2025 through to October 2028, and enrolling them on a 4-year long PhD programme. All students will have access to the same high-quality training and networking opportunities and will undertake a 3-month research training project plus a 3-month industry placement prior to starting their PhD research project.

Apply now

Testimonials from current and past CDT students

Emily Atkinson, Alumni

“The CDT is unique as it provided me with broad training in drug design, testing and formulation, as well as invaluable links with the pharmaceutical industry. Following my PhD, I was awarded the Maplethorpe Fellowship at UCL School of Pharmacy to design new translational peptide therapeutics for regenerative medicine.”
Mandy Cheng, 2nd Year Student

“The CDT has provided us with lots of training which has prepared us to be better researchers and I am thoroughly enjoying my PhD project!”
Gedion Giramun, 2nd Year Student

‘Through the rotation projects, training modules, and colloquiums, this program has given me the opportunity to explore diverse fields of research in both academic and industry settings, providing a well-rounded perspective on the research landscape. This experience has enabled me to shape my PhD project strategically to build the skills necessary for advancing my research career. Additionally, the people I have met along the way have greatly contributed to my development, both technically and personally. I am deeply grateful to the CDT and our industry partners for making this program possible!’
Rama Hassoun, 2nd Year Student

“As someone who always knew they wanted to pursue a PhD but wasn’t sure exactly what in, the CDT has been the perfect opportunity for me. It allowed me to explore a variety of research fields before shaping the project that best suits my interests. The training modules and colloquiums have been incredibly valuable in developing both my research and soft skills, while also building connections within our cohort and across the different institutions involved, as well as our industry partners!.”
Mark Kudady, 2nd Year Student

“The CDT in TPT has two training placements. Through the first academic internship, I got to experience new methods and got to know my PhD supervisor at the School of Pharmacy which was fantastic. The second placement at an industry partner provided me with insights into industrial research.'“
Amy Locks, 3rd Year Student

“Choosing to do a PhD as part of the CDT has massively enhanced my PhD experience! Having the chance to dip into new science in the academic and industry project of the 1st year helped me propose a project I knew I was going to really enjoy, and the seven training module weeks which mostly occur in the 1st and 2nd year of the PhD meant that there was a strong sense of community between the other PhD students at the universities involved in the CDT from the beginning. I have been extremely happy with the outcomes of my PhD project as a result, achieving things I never thought I would have been capable of at the beginning of the PhD.”
Corinna Schlosser, Final Year Student

"I joined the CDT in Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies in 2020. While I always knew that I enjoy research and wanted to do a PhD, I had many interests and wasn’t quite sure what topic I wanted to research. At the start of the programme, we had two mini-projects. This was great as I got to explore completely different projects, which helped me to understand my interests better. We were also directly involved in the project generation and as a result I very much enjoyed my PhD project.
At the CDT I was also part of a cohort of PhD students and more widely the CDT community, which has been invaluable. Everyone has been incredibly supportive throughout and made my PhD a truly memorable experience."
Celina Worraker, 2nd Year Student

“I appreciate how closely linked the program is with industry. Throughout my PhD, I've had numerous opportunities to engage with leading pharmaceutical companies, which has given me great insights into real world challenges and innovations. This close collaboration ensures that the work we do has a direct impact on industry advancements.”