Training

The STRATiGRAD programme is committed to delivering high-quality support and teaching to those undertaking the programme. By being part of a multi-disciplinary cohort, students benefit from a dynamic environment and the support of their colleagues whilst undertaking their individual research. We provide our cohorts with training and opportunities which will both develop their research skills and enhance future employability.

Core training in technology

Students are taught basic skills in NMR spectroscopy, chromatography, mass spectrometry, multivariate analysis, and statistical spectroscopy through bespoke short courses, a dedicated STRATiGRAD training program and by personal interaction with their supervisors and postdoc mentor. Additionally, they are encouraged to attend external training courses.

Training in biological interpretation

Students are aligned to focus groups in CSM that cover the biological and medical aspects associated with their project. Medical application areas include cancer, neonatal medicine, gut health and microbial development, renal disease and transplantation, liver disease, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease.

Integrating data –generating information

The use of multimodal technologies that generate vast amounts of data necessitates the development of skills in data integration across a variety of bio-organisational levels in order to understand biological processes that impact on disease at a systems level. A variety of traditional and innovative chemometric methods are taught with subsequent frameworks for visualization and mapping onto biological networks.

External collaborations

The STRATiGRAD program is a partnership between Imperial and its industrial and clinical partners. Students are encouraged to develop a relationship with one or more of the funders, spending time in their laboratories with a view to broadening their experience. Additionally, CSM has longstanding relationships with several world-class groups specializing in disciplines such as metagenomics, chemometrics and epidemiology, which will provide a further training sources. 

Leadership skills

Cornerstones of training in leadership involve a focus on presentation skills, both verbal and written. Students are expected to publish in high quality peer-reviewed journals and to present their research at international research forums. Students are required to attend a range of transferrable skills courses including management and leadership. We aim to generate scientists who are confident in a range of core and translational skills and who can thrive in a dynamic, multidisciplinary and competitive environment.

Outreach

Many of our students choose to get involved in our outreach program. Some of the students have volunteered to teach on the local school science experience projects, whilst others have participated in the metabolic profiling initiative in the MRC Gambia with the aim of developing a MS-based screening platform for disease biomarkers.