£12.21 per hour + £1.47 holiday pay
Advertising End Date
16 Jan 2026
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  • LMS Research Internship: Closed-Loop Drug Delivery Systems: A Scoping Review

Role & Department Overview

Please note: these internships are only available to current undergraduate students in Lancaster University Medical School.

This internship is offered as part of research opportunities for Medical School undergraduate students (MBChB and SaES). Each internship will be supervised by an academic member of staff. These opportunities are designed to give students experience of contributing to university research. These internships would be ideal for students considering postgraduate study, intercalated degrees or specialised foundation programmes.  

Project Summary:
 
Closed-loop drug delivery systems represent a transformative approach in precision medicine, integrating real-time biosensing with automated drug administration to maintain optimal therapeutic levels. These systems are designed to monitor physiological parameters continuously and adjust drug dosing dynamically, offering significant advantages in managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, pain, and neurological disorders.

This scoping review aims to systematically map the existing literature on closed-loop drug delivery systems, identify key components and mechanisms, and highlight current applications, challenges, and future opportunities. The review will follow the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) framework to ensure methodological rigor and transparency.

The objectives of the review are to:
Characterize the types of closed-loop drug delivery systems currently in development or clinical use, including biosensors, feedback algorithms, and drug delivery mechanisms.
Identify therapeutic areas where closed-loop drug delivery systems have been applied or proposed, with a focus on metabolic, neurological, and oncological conditions.
Explore the integration of digital health technologies, such as wearable sensors, mobile apps, and AI-driven analytics, in enhancing system responsiveness and patient engagement.
Assess reported outcomes, including efficacy, safety, patient adherence, and quality of life.
Map gaps in the literature and propose directions for future research and development.

The review will involve a comprehensive search of peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings, and grey literature across databases such as PubMed, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria will focus on studies describing or evaluating closed-loop drug delivery systems in human or preclinical models. Data will be charted and synthesized thematically to provide a broad overview of the field.
This project will provide valuable insights into the state of the art in closed-loop drug delivery and inform future interdisciplinary research at the intersection of biomedical engineering, physiology, and digital health. It will also support the applicant’s development of critical skills in systematic literature review, data synthesis, and scientific communication, essential for a future career in translational medical research.
 

Interview date: TBC - in January (flexibility around exams)
Start Date: Late January 2026
End Date: End August 2026
Working Pattern: Up to 25 hours per week
Duration: Up to 16 weeks (with some flexibility over the vacation periods and around exams)
Location: Work from home, the campus library, or use the hot desk space in Health Innovation One.

Job Description

Major duties:

  • The student will form part of the team who will undertake and support screening for data, data extraction and writing short synopses for relevant material that will form part of at least one published manuscript.
  • The student will develop understanding of the scoping review methodology. This will include writing skills, synthesising information from multiple sources into short concise summaries, as well as helping to write some of the findings into a manuscript, or part of a manuscript – depending on rate of progress across the course of their involvement.

Person Specification

The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate:

  • You must be a current student registered on BSc Sports and Exercise Science, MBChB Surgery, Medicine and Surgery with a Gateway Year and in Years 2-5 of study.
  • Strong interest in undertaking research. Previous research experience is not essential as support will be provided, but a willingness to learn is essential.
  • Basic Word and Excel proficiency.
  • The ability to perform a basic search in search engines such as “PubMed”, “Google Scholar” and other health related databases.
  • The ability to read and understand scientific articles and summarise them in a concise and simple manner.

 

Applicants should have good organisational skills, and academic experience in the following (consistent with having completed SSM2):

  • Attending supervisory meetings
  • Developing a plan of work
  • Devising search terms and completing literature review
  • Recording and presenting findings clearly
  • Scope to develop written review

Please apply through ERS with:

  1. A CV including your education history and any work experience (maximum of two full pages) and,
  2. A cover letter that explains your interest in research, why you would like to be involved in this particular research internship, and how you meet the criteria outlined in the person specification.
For any informal information about this role please contact Dr Lawrence Hayes: [email protected]
 
 
Working in this role will help develop the following skills and experience:
  • Analysing
  • Collaboration
  • Curiosity
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity
  • Organisation
  • Planning and organising
  • Problem solving
  • Research
  • Resilience
  • Self-motivation
  • Teamwork
  • Time Management
  • Verbal communication
  • Written communication
 
 
  
 

You are required to submit a cover letter to support your application. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

Please note: Unless specified otherwise in the advert wording, this role is only open to individuals living in the UK.

Under the terms of this work, we endeavour to provide the advertised number of hours however, hours are not guaranteed and that work may cease if there is a fall in demand. 

Adverts that display a closing date should be treated as a guide. We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment.

Apply

Help and advice on making applications can be found on the Lancaster University Careers pages. Visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/careers.

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