UKRI Doctoral Focal Award in AI and Data in the Biosciences – demand managed

Doctoral Focal Award in AI and Data in the Biosciences

The BBSRC Doctoral Focal Award in AI and Data in the Biosciences aims to train the next generation of leaders in computational approaches for bioscience research and innovation, including data science, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

It focuses on building researchers with strong quantitative skills (for example, mathematical, computational) and strengthening the pipeline of individuals who are capable of developing innovative, data-driven approaches to bioscience challenges now and in the future.

The need for these critical skills is evident from the BBSRC’s Review of data-intensive bioscience and UKRI’s AI review Transforming our world with AI and further supported by a broad range of external skills focussed reports (both academic- and industry-led) as well as extensive bioscience community feedback.

The overall aims of this funding opportunity are to support a high standard of collaborative research training through:

• Delivering world-class doctoral research, training and development within dynamic and supportive research and innovation environments.
• Advancing current understanding, generating new knowledge, and developing the breadth of expertise in AI and data in biosciences for future economic and societal impact.
• Supporting capacity building across AI and data science.
• Involvement of organisations beyond academia in the selection, development and implementation of projects they would like to support and supervise through CASE studentships.
• Preparing students to follow a diversity of career paths.
• Supporting a diverse doctoral community, which includes addressing areas of underrepresentation (for example protected characteristics, types of professions, career stage and porosity within the research and innovation system).

The following are examples of broad thematic areas that doctoral training could be provided in:

• Design and use of AI for biosciences, exploring the potential to alter the way research and innovation are performed, through automation (for example, of hypothesis generation, experimental design, or the experiments themselves), new ways of processing, accessing, analysing and generating data.
• Design and use of advanced computational approaches, enabling quantitative biology at scale, multi-modal and multi-scale data integration and analysis, and advanced modelling approaches.
• Software engineering for data-centric bioscience research.
• Development of tools and algorithms for effective use of high-performance computing platforms (for example, distributed computing clusters, Cloud compute, and GPUs) in the biosciences.
• Advancing the development of AI and related technical standards, guidelines, and related tools that promote innovation and trust
• FAIR data and metadata management in/for the biosciences.

Inclusion of AI/ML as a thematic area is mandatory for all applications.

We are only allowed to submit one application to this call as the lead institution. As a result, we are developing a cross-factually internal selection process, which will be announced soon. If you are interested in applying either as lead or as a partner on another application please email Sarah Warner (sarah.warner@newcastle.ac.uk)