Cancer Biology and Immunology

Cancer biology and immunology together address some of the most urgent questions in biomedical science. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, and understanding why cells become cancerous, how they evade the body's normal controls, and how the immune system can be recruited to fight them is at the heart of modern oncology research. Immunology provides the mechanistic framework for that last question: the immune system is both a natural defence against tumours and, when properly directed by therapeutic intervention, one of the most promising tools in cancer treatment.

Studying both together creates a graduate with a genuinely integrated understanding of two deeply intertwined fields.

At the University of Bristol, this three-year full-time programme draws on a strong biomedical research environment in a leading UK university. In your first year you will build a broad understanding of the biology of normal and cancerous cells alongside the immune system and immune response, and you will also study pathology, microbiology, and biochemistry, giving you the scientific foundations for the specialist work that follows. In later years you will go deeper into cancer biology, including the molecular mechanisms of tumour development, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance, and into immunology, covering how the immune system is regulated and how cancer cells evade immune detection.

You will develop strong laboratory skills, data analysis competence, and the capacity to engage with primary scientific literature critically, preparing you for work in research or in the broader biosciences industry.

Graduates move into careers in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development, clinical research, cancer charities, science communication, and laboratory management. Many pursue postgraduate study in cancer biology, immunology, clinical oncology, or related biomedical disciplines, and academic and industry research careers are well-established destinations from this degree.