About us

We aim to address the major global challenges of our time in sustaining and keeping healthy both the world’s growing population and the planet's ecosystems.

Our research contributes to the underlying biological mechanisms of life and disease, seeking to deliver new solutions with major economic, societal and environmental impact. Through our research-led teaching, we will inspire and train new generations, equipping our graduates with the skills and understanding needed to contribute to research, the knowledge-based economy and wider society.

We provide a dynamic and stimulating research environment with impressive modern facilities and high-calibre research-active staff. We have an international reputation for our teaching and research and within the School there are:

• over 100 academic staff
• around 150 research staff
• over 160 postgraduate students
• around 2000 undergraduate students.

Supported by a range of high quality facilities, our topical courses and advanced research spans the full range of the life sciences from whole (eco) systems to molecular biology.

Our reputation

In the 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) compiled by Shanghai Ranking, Biological Sciences at Cardiff is ranked 4th in the UK and 25th worldwide.

Facilities for staff and students

A £4M extension to the School's building complex in 2010 means we have high quality meeting facilities, a coffee shop for staff and students and well-equipped offices. In recent years there has been extensive refurbishment of laboratory space and investment in new state-of-the-art equipment (for example, a Two-Photon System).

We are home to the Welsh Centre for Anatomical Education, providing resources and training for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

The £30M Hadyn Ellis Building houses two University Research Institutes in which the School has a key role: the European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute and the Neurosciences and Mental Health Research Institute. The building is also used for research and postgraduate training.