PhD Studentship: Designing polymer drug delivery implants with tuneable release pathways

Department: Materials
Title: Designing polymer drug delivery implants with tuneable release pathways
Application deadline: 11/03/2026
How to apply: Click the 'Apply' button above.

This 3.5-year PhD project is fully funded and home students, and EU students with settled status, are eligible to apply. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-free stipend set at the UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26) and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year. The start date is October 2026.

We recommend that you apply early as the advert may be removed before the deadline.

Long-acting medicines can transform patient outcomes by reducing dosing frequency and improving adherence, but achieving sustained, predictable drug release remains a major scientific and translational challenge. There is a growing need for injectable or minimally invasive depot technologies that can deliver therapeutics over extended timeframes, while remaining adaptable across different drug classes and clinical applications.

This PhD studentship will develop next-generation polymer drug delivery implants designed to form in situ and enable tuneable release pathways. By controlling polymer architecture, material properties and formulation behaviour, the project will explore how implant structure can be designed to regulate drug transport and provide sustained therapeutic release. The overall aim is to create a robust and versatile materials platform that supports long-acting delivery, while developing fundamental insight into polymer structure–property–performance relationships.

The student will undertake an interdisciplinary programme combining polymer synthesis, materials characterisation, rheology and mechanical testing, and in vitro drug release studies, supported by quantitative analysis and mechanistic interpretation. The project provides outstanding training at the interface of polymer chemistry, soft matter, biomaterials engineering and pharmaceutical science. Alongside fundamental materials development, the studentship will provide exposure to the challenges and opportunities associated with translation of long-acting technologies towards clinical implementation.

This studentship is closely linked to the UK Hub for Advanced Long-Acting Therapeutics (HALo), a major national collaboration involving the University of Manchester, Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Nottingham and the University of Liverpool. As part of HALo, the student will join a wider community of researchers across disciplines, participate in hub meetings and activities, and gain exposure to clinical translation pathways and long-acting therapeutic technology development.

We are recruiting an enthusiastic, curious and collaborative student with experience in polymer chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, pharmaceutical sciences or a related discipline. The studentship will be based at the University of Manchester within a highly interdisciplinary environment, with opportunities for collaboration across the HALo network.

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s in Chemistry, Materials Science or Pharmaceutical Sciences. We are seeking candidates with a background in polymer synthesis, macromolecular synthesis, soft matter, biomaterials or drug delivery. Prior laboratory experience in polymer synthesis and materials characterisation would be advantageous but is not essential.

To apply, please contact the main supervisor, Dr Thomas McDonald - thomas.mcdonald@manchester.ac.uk. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

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