The Molecular Analytical Science Centre for Doctoral Training (MAS CDT) is an exciting new CDT opened in 2014 with funding awarded from the EPSRC.

MAS CDT will produce a new generation of Analytical Scientists. With the world-leading facilities and expertise at Warwick at their disposal, our students will graduate with a unique combination of skills in exploiting synergies between different experimental methods and in harnessing the power of combining data collection with experimental design, statistical analysis, modelling, and simulation. They will become the future leaders in Analytical Science, equipped with a combination of scientific and complementary skills for addressing many of the key industrial and societal challenges faced by the UK.

MAS CDT builds on the expertise of the renowened MOAC Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Warwick which was established in 2003 to catalyse research and training at Warwick across the physical/life sciences interface. MOAC was formed in response to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's aim to embed physical sciences methodologies into solving biological sciences problems. MOAC stands for Molecular Organisation and Assembly in Cells and its remit has remained at the molecular end of cellular function with an ever increasing emphasis on developing and applying new experimental and theoretical methods to such problems. MOAC's funding supported 10 intakes of students which took it from 2003 to 2013, growing each year in reputation and expertise.

 

The new Molecular Analytical Science Centre for Doctoral Training will pursue innovation in Analytical Science and technology, connecting training and state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical research to serve a range of application areas and thus promote new economic activities. MAS CDT’s ethos is to place students at the heart of research and training activities. Our core principles are to provide:

• World-leading Analytical Science expertise and infrastructure for delivering high quality research where experiment is linked with theory-based interpretation
• Problem-driven advances across molecular, pharmaceutical, agri, and biomolecular sciencesAn established integrative and cross-disciplinary research environment for delivering PhD training
• Agenda-setting innovative cohort-based transferable skills training program
• Rapid technology transfer between academia and industry
• Opportunities for every student to gain industrial, international, and outreach experience
• Catalysis of academia-industry and industry-industry collaborations

We aim to establish novel scientific opportunities in both research and training that will enable us to be globally leading, developing and applying frontier techniques to solve problems across a range of molecular application areas, while at the same time training the next generation of Analytical Scientists for future careers. .

MAS research and training themes :

Application theme	Research challenges	Training needs	Examples of societal and industrial analytical challenges
Measurement, sensing and extraction in complex matrices	Detecting trace elements specifically and quantitatively in real environments.	Platform of techniques. Statistical methodologies for extracting signal. Experimental design.	Next-generation in situ low invasive analysis: diagnosis, monitoring, environment. Environmental problems linked to water and energy supply. Trace analysis in medicine, environment. Biomarkers of disease. Personal healthcare. Understanding and quantifying uncertainty related to risk policy and management, safety. Improved safety, quality, efficiency in low volume high-value products. Novel, sustainable, high-efficiency (minimise waste), ‘intrinsically safe’ methods of chemical and food production. Improved energy usage in process design and scale up. Pathogen resistance. Image analysis.
Advanced quantitative analysis	Extracting all useful information from complex data sets.	Statistics, mathematical modelling, high performance computing
Molecular stability in complex systems	Identifying components, small differential signals, probing structure.	Experimental & theoretical methods. Microfluidics. Experimental design.
New techniques for Quality by Design: pharmaceutical, biopharma., agri-science, personal care	Definitive molecular characterisation of products in real time, rapid & sensitive functionality testing on/in-line.	Fluid dynamics, micro and nano fluidics molecular structure, interactions, technique development, existing techniques.
Characterising and exploiting functional biomolecular assemblies	Structure and function of biomolecules and assemblies: harnessing nature’s methods.	Biophysical techniques. Mathematics, statistics for analysis & modelling. Instrument design.
Analytical science for optimising and understanding dynamics in complex systems	Crossing chemistry /engineering interface; sensitivity and speed of measurement; complex surface chemistry.	In situ probes (spectroscopy, electro-chemistry), multiscale phenomena, mass transport (fluid dynamics and diffusion), interfacial chemistry, modelling.