Project Supervisors

 If you are interested in hosting an Applied Cancer Science student, please complete the following form

The MSc in Applied Cancer Science is a one-year, full-time course, designed to prepare students for careers in cancer science research. Students typically come from biomedical sciences, biochemistry, and cell biology backgrounds, though the programme also attracts medical students wishing to specialise in oncology and professionals seeking to advance their expertise for career progression.

The course combines intensive taught modules with a substantial independent research project.

• Michaelmas & Hilary Terms: Core taught modules

• Trinity Term & Long Vacation: Research project and dissertation

The research project culminates in a 10,000-word dissertation and poster presentation, which accounts for 40% of the total marks for the MSc.

Research project supervision

The Department of Oncology is seeking project proposals from researchers across the University who are interested in supervising an MSc student during their research placement.

Supervisors play a vital role in mentoring students through the research process and dissertation writing.

Supervisors are expected to:

• Provide day-to-day supervision (can be delegated to a postdoc or experienced DPhil student).

• Provide training in relevant lab techniques as needed

• Give feedback on dissertation drafts

• Participate in the assessment of one or more dissertation and poster presentation (please note that marking activities are paid.)

• Attend the Master’s Showcase in September
• For external projects, liaise with internal supervisors provided by the Department of Oncology and ensure proper oversight and reporting. 
• Ensure students are not working unsupervised in wet labs and are accompanied during out-of-hours lab access. 

Important information:

• Supervision duties run from April to September (see timeline below)

• Students have a £2,000 research budget to contribute toward wet lab project expenses.

• External supervisors (outside the Department of Oncology) will be paired with a co-supervisor from Oncology.

Project requirements

• Project duration should be approximately 4 months (Apr-Jul)
• Projects must have a clear link to cancer biology or clinical application.
• Projects can be lab based, computational/bioinformatics, or hybrid (systematic literature reviews could be considered). 
• Ethical approval must be considered and noted in the proposal.  

Project timeline

 Students will work full-time in the host lab from April - July, before the dissertation writing phase in August.

After submission of the dissertation, students will be required to present a scientific poster based on their work at the Master's Dissertation Showcase in September. The presentation showcase is an alternative to a viva, which proved very successful last year, and appreciated by both students and supervisors.

Supervisors will be required to assist with the marking of dissertations and assessment of posters at the September showcase.

In total, students will be required to submit the following: 

Application process

 If you are interested in hosting an Applied Cancer Science student, please complete the following form, including a working title, brief project outline,  and details of the members of your team who will be involved in supervision: 

Deadline for project proposal submission: January 2026

Project proposal submissions will be reviewed by course directors who will be in contact with further information and next steps.

Example Projects

 Below are a selection of previous project titles as an example of the range of areas students can be involved with:

If you have any questions about supervising a student or submitting a project proposal, please contact Marco Pontecorvi, Director of Studies, MSc in Applied Cancer Science.