School of Biosciences

Our School of Biosciences at Aston University’s College of Health and Life Sciences, offers a distinctive learning experience. Our research-driven teaching provides our students with access to the latest trends, emerging ideas, and critical issues in the field.  By blending practical skills development with opportunities to engage in real-world research projects, we ensure that our graduates are well-equipped with the knowledge, expertise, and confidence to succeed in their careers.

Much like our teaching, research at the School takes a distinctive approach, combining both fundamental and translational programmes. Our work is firmly rooted in real-world applications and covers a wide range of topics, from model organisms (such as bacteria, worms, and flies) to animal models and human studies, all centered on understanding the core processes that drive health and disease. The collaboration between these research areas, along with our strong partnerships with the NHS and industry, creates a vibrant environment that encourages innovative research.

Our team of dedicated experts drives and supports all activities within the School. From teaching and research teams to support staff, we cultivate an inclusive, interdisciplinary environment that promotes impactful research and produces highly skilled graduates.

Rankings

• Top 15 overall in the UK for Biomedical Science (Guardian, 2025; Daily Mail, 2025)
• First in the UK for ‘student to staff ratio’ (Biomedical Science; Anatomy and Physiology; Guardian, 2025)
• Top five in the UK for ‘continuation’ (Biological Sciences; Biomedical Sciences; Complete University Guide, 2025)
• Top 10 in the UK for 'graduate prospects' (Biological Sciences; Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, 2025)
• 98% of students felt positive about teaching on their course (Biological Sciences; National Student Survey, 2024)
• 98% of students felt positive about the learning resources available to them (Biochemistry; National Student Survey, 2024).

Facilities

Teaching and research within the School is conducted in our on-site biosciences facilities, including a variety of laboratories such as the Mass Spectrometry and Lipidomics Laboratory and ARCHA Advanced Imaging Facility.

In 2020 we invested around half a million pounds to develop two new labs, a new state-of-the-art cell culture laboratory and a molecular biology/biochemistry lab, to support student practical classes, projects and professional lab competency. This has been further supported through new equipment purchases including dedicated flow cytometry for teaching, 20 cell culture cabinets with incubators fridges and freezers, new microscopy equipment and new equipment for the analysis of proteins through electrophoresis. We have a constant program of renewal and improvement of our facilities.

Accreditation and links to industry

Accreditation

Several flagship courses within our portfolio offer accreditation to leading professional bodies. This seal of approval ensures that our programmes contain a solid academic foundation in subject knowledge and skills to help prepare our graduates to address the needs of employers.

Accreditation also means that students on our BSc Biomedical Science/Applied Biomedical Science and Biomedical Science top-up modules, have the requisite qualifications to go onto work in the NHS in a professional role as a biomedical scientist. In addition, our MBiol exit programme holds Advanced Degree Accreditation with the Royal Society of Biology.

Accrediting bodies include:

Royal Society of Biology (RSB) and Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS)

Full details on accreditation can be found on our course pages.

Links to industry and expertise

We’re proud of the strong links we’ve forged within the sector and our local community. We work closely with colleagues in the NHS, industry, and charitable sectors on a variety of projects, from research, to ‘train the trainers’ sessions, in addition to having clinical staff in the School who work within local hospitals.

Within the School of biosciences, our staff are members of a number of important funding body committees. In 2020, two out of the five Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funding panels were chaired by staff from the School: Professor Andrew Devitt, and Professor Roslyn Bill. We also give regular talks at charitable and support groups, provide expert commentary for print and broadcast media, and take part in a wide range of public engagement activities at a local and national level.

Research

Staff within the School conduct research in a multitude of areas, from our overarching Biosciences Research Group, to the Centres of Excellence; Aston Research Centre for Healthy Ageing (ARCHA) and Aston Centre for Membrane Protein and Lipid Research (AMPL). In addition, we contribute to research in the multi-disciplinary Aston Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment.

We are also a partner institution with several leading research training programmes BBSRC: Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership, and EPSRC-SFI Joint Centre for Doctoral Training in Engineered Tissues for Discovery, Industry and Medicine.