Health Data Science: Fully Funded PhD Studentship in Population and Health Data Science

European Commission; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 21,000; Full time

Job summary

The European Commission offers a PhD opportunity at Swansea University exploring the genetic basis of neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis. Candidates will engage with cutting-edge computational techniques and receive extensive training in the Health Data Science field, setting the stage for impactful research in human diseases.

Benefits

Full tuition coverage

Annual stipend at UKRI rate

Qualifications

• Strong background in qualitative sciences desired.
• Evidence of publishable standard projects is also desirable.

Responsibilities

• Investigate genetic factors influencing neurodegeneration.
• Utilize computational methods for data integration and analysis.

Skills

Biomedical engineering

Medical physics

Image analysis

Computational neuroscience

Quantitative psychology

Education

UK 2.1 degree

Masters degree with Merit

Job description

Organisation/Company Swansea University Department Central Research Field Medical sciences » Health sciences Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Country United Kingdom Application Deadline 23 Jun 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/London) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Project Background: Why some people with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience faster changes in brain structures (neurodegeneration) than others? What genetic associations with brain regional characteristics might explain these differences? MS is a complex disease, with damage to the brain and nervous system that varies widely between individuals. This PhD project offers an opportunity to investigate the genetic factors influencing changes in brain structures, using brain imaging, computational and statistical methods of network science.

Project Aim: The aim of the project is to uncover the complex relationship between brain structure, myelin distribution and genetic factors in MS.

Research Focus: Recently, computational pipelines have been developed to integrate genetic and imaging databases for characterising genetic basis of neurodegeneration. Additionally, our research group works on developing novel computational methods for extraction of cortical morphometric features from clinical brain scans and network analysis of interactions between these features. These pipelines and computational tools will be used to integrate imaging and genetic data, and maps of myelin distribution in the cortical grey matter to analyse patterns of neurodegeneration in MS from a large-scale study in these patients.

Research environment and benefit: The successful candidate will join the new research group in the Health Data Science in the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Science at Swansea University, in addition to interacting with the research group in the Life Science department. The candidate will receive extensive training in computational and analytical methods, gaining skills highly valued in both academic and industry research.

Qualifications: A strong background in qualitative sciences: biomedical engineering, medical physics, image analysis, computational neuroscience or quantitative psychology is desirable.

If you would like to work on a PhD project about biological understanding of human diseases and if you are interested in applying cutting-age computational approaches to real-world datasets, we encourage you to apply.

English Language:IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent

Applicants for PhD must hold a degree of a UK 2.1 and a Masters degree with Merit in any of the following disciplines: Medical Physics, Biophysics, Physics, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Bioinformatics, Neuroinformatics. Evidence of publishable standard projects is also desirable.

Additional Information

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £20,780 for 2025/26).

Applicants for PhD must hold a degree of a UK 2.1 and a Masters degree with Merit in any of the following disciplines: Medical Physics, Biophysics, Physics, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Bioinformatics, Neuroinformatics. Evidence of publishable standard projects is also desirable.

Selection process

Please see our website for further information