PhD/MPhil Dermatological Sciences

Visit our Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health postgraduate research events page to find out about upcoming open days and events.

• Browse our project listings and funded programmes to discover a project you’re passionate about and check you meet eligibility criteria.
• Understand how your project is funded and, if it’s listed as self-funded, consider our funding opportunities for self-funded projects or other funding opportunities .
• Speak to the listed supervisor about your suitability for their project or programme before you apply.
• Visit our ‘How to apply’ page to find out more and ensure you include all required supporting documents at the time of submission.

Visit our Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health postgraduate research page to find out more.

Before you start your application, you should:

• Discover more about the research area you’re interested in.
• Identify the programme or find the specific research project you'd like to apply for.
• Contact the listed project supervisor and speak to them about your suitability for the project.
• Understand how your project is funded and, if you are applying for a self-funded project, consider how you plan on funding your project and discuss this with the listed supervisor.

If you already have your own funding:

• Find a specific self-funded project and contact the project supervisor to talk to them about your suitability for the project; OR
• Determine your own research project and title, find a potential supervisor in this research area and contact them to discuss potentially supervising your research.

Supporting documents

You'll also need to make sure you have the following documents before you start your application:

• Personal statement
• Certificates and transcripts
• CV
• Confirmation of funding (if you are self-funded)
• English language ability
• Names and details of two referees to support your application

Visit our ‘How to apply’ page to find out more about the information required for each of these supporting documents.

Any missing information may delay the processing of your application.

Application deadlines

The deadline for applying for postgraduate research in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health depends on when you intend to start your research and how your project is funded.

If you are applying for one of our funded programmes, please refer to the deadlines detailed on the relevant page .

If you’re applying for a project that isn’t part of one of these programmes, our final application deadlines are:

• January 2026 entry: Wednesday, 15 October 2025
• April 2026 entry: Thursday, 15 January 2026
• September 2026 entry: Tuesday, 15 June 2026

Our PhD/MPhil Dermatological Sciences programme enables you to undertake a research project that will improve understanding of Dermatological Sciences.

Research in The Dermatology Centre is undertaken by established groups and independent researchers investigating a wide array of skin conditions ranging from psoriasis, skin cancer, photodermatoses, inflammatory hair disease, wound healing and skin ageing to the psychological morbidity of living with skin disease.

Specific researchers have varying interests within each of these conditions such as genetics, genomics and immunological basis of disease, epidemiology, the brain skin axis and psychological investigations of disease burden, which adds to the wide array of available postgraduate research study options.

We have a strong track record of training postgraduate research students and all our staff have a hands on approach to supervision.

Training and mentorship is a strength of the supervisors in the centre and is specifically directed at all levels of career development. You will gain training in skill sets relevant to your studies and are encouraged to take part in patient/public engagement and involvement activities (PPE/I) to discuss your research with members of the general public and patients.

The Dermatology Centre has a high success rate of securing funding from research councils such as the Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, British Skin Foundation and Psoriasis Association.

Examples of recent PhDs are below.

Psoriasis

• Defining the key biological and genetic mechanisms involved in psoriasis.
• The role of mast cell tryptase in psoriatic itch.
• Statistical approaches to the integration of electronic health records and genetics for understanding disease risk and its application to psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
• Risk and predictors of infections in psoriasis patients exposed to biologic therapy: a prospective observational cohort study in the British Association of Dermatologists' Biologic Interventions Register (BADBIR)
• The role of exercise on cardiovascular disease risk in psoriasis.

Photodermatoses and ultraviolet radiation

• Identification and characterisation of photosensitivity in the connective tissue disorders
• Prevalence of drug-induced photosensitivity
• Vitamin D synthesis in ageing skin
• Characterisation of the effects of ultraviolet radiation on tight junction proteins.
• Epigenetic determinants of optimal skin response to UV radiation
• Prevention and treatment of basal cell carcinoma and other keratinocyte cancers
• The interaction of UV, the microbiome and the skin

Hair follicle biology and pathology

• Examining mechanisms underlying anagen associated acceleration of wound repair.
• Role of adipocytes in human hair follicle cycling.
• Localisation and characterisation of stem cells in the ageing human hair follicle.
• Role of immunocytes in human hair follicle growth and disease.
• Role of clock genes in the control of human hair growth and pigmentation.

Skin immunology and ageing

• Skin immune cell interactions in health and disease with emphasis on mast cells.
• Ageing: Cutaneous consequences of fibrillin microfibril remodelling.
• Ageing: The role of oxidation and UV sensitive proteins.
• A study of fibrillin microfibril degradation on ECM remodelling in ageing.

Training and development

All of our postgraduate researchers attend the Doctoral Academy Training Programme delivered by the Researcher Development team . The programme provides key transferable skills and equips our postgraduate researchers with the tools to progress beyond their research degree into influential positions within academia, industry and consultancy. The emphasis is on enhancing skills critical to developing early-stage researchers and professionals, whether they relate to effective communication, disseminating research findings and project management skills.

Visit our PhD life page to discover life as a postgraduate researcher at Manchester or read our postgraduate research student blog .

Your postgraduate research degree will open up a range of career opportunities after you graduate. Find out more on the  Careers  page.