Health and Social Studies (School of)

• PhD Programmes

Warwick Medical School

• Funding opportunities in the Warwick Medical School
• ESRC Collaborative Studentship- Health care system design and the integration of information and medical technology in rural South Africa: a critical analysis
• PhD Studentship- Population studies of the DNA replication process.

• PhD Studentship- Bioassay of Human Embryo-Endometrial Interaction

WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group)

Institute of Digital Healthcare

• PhD Studentship in Development of a Predictive Health Outcome Model in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit

The School of Health and Social Studies offers PhD programmes in the following areas:

• Nursing
• Ethnic Relations
• Social Work
• Health Studies
• Applied Social Studies

Visit the school’s website for further information

Doctoral Study at Warwick Medical School

WMS offers full and part-time research degrees. Registration is available in the following areas: Health Sciences, Clinical Sciences and Clinical Education.

The School provides:

• Research methods training
• Regular supervision from experienced academics interested in your topic
• Training in transferable skills (e.g. literature searching, presentation, writing, project management)
• Access to IT and library facilities
• Supportive environment for research including meeting other research students

Visit the website for the latest funding news.

Warwick Medical School, Division of Medical Cell Biology

PhD Studentship

Title: Population studies of the DNA replication process.

Project Description: This PhD project is a collaborative project between Warwick Medical School and the Cambridge biotech company, Population Genetics, founded by Nobel laureate Sydney Brenner and Sam Eletr, co-founder of Applied Biosystems. Population Genetics has developed novel technology for studying population-wide genetic variation. This project will exploit these techniques to study both the population and tissue variation in the replication process. Genetic instability during the DNA replication process is thought to be the major underlying cause of the development of cancer, and the DNA replication process role itself may play an important role during differentiation and development. The student will have the opportunity to receive training in both academic and industrial environments.  

Eligibility criteria and details of award: This is a competitive programme where the applicant must have achieved at least a 2.1 to be considered. The award will consist of a student maintenance grant over three years at the relevant UK Research Council rate as well as the university student fee.

Awards available: 1 award available  

Application Details: Please view the following page for full details about this award: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/med/research/biomedical/dnalab/

For application queries please contact: Jacob Zeuthen Dalgaard, Ph.D, Principal Research Fellow, Division of Biomedical Cell Biology. Phone +44 (0) 2476 151170 (office) +44 (0) 2476 128361 (lab) Email: j.z.dalgaard@warwick.ac.uk

Deadline: 14 February 2012

Warwick Medical School, Division of Reproductive Health

PhD Studentship in implantation

PhD Project Title: Bioassay of Human Embryo-Endometrial Interaction

Background: Successful pregnancy depends upon intimate interactions between a developmentally competent embryo and a receptive endometrium mediated by locally secreted factors. High rates of chromosomally abnormal cells within human embryos mean that reproductive success is dependent on this process distinguishing between normal and abnormal pregnancies (1,2). Some women with recurrent miscarriage are “superfertile” as lack of embryo quality control allows rapid conception but with many implanting abnormal embryos ending in miscarriage (1-4). In contrast, a potential cause of sub-fertility may involve the endometrium treating all embryos as abnormal, allowing none to implant. Abnormal but not normal embryos trigger an inflammatory cytokine response in cultured decidualising human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) (3). At a cellular level, the maternal response to poor quality human embryos is characterized by ER stress, which primarily a survival response but may lead to cell death if severe or prolonged. Thus, the ability of mounting an ER stress response

Awards available: 1 award available

Funding Details: Fees and maintenance at RCUK level

Length of Award: 4 years (PhD)

Eligibility: Home and Overseas

Applicants should have a 2:1 or first class BSc degree in a biologically related discipline.

Application Details: Please email Kimberly.thomas@warwick.ac.uk for further information.

Deadline: 24^th February 2012

ESRC Collaborative PHD Studentship:

Project Title: Health care system design and the integration of information and medical technology in rural South Africa: a critical analysis

Collaborative partner: GE Healthcare and the School of Public Health at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa

The Social Science and Systems in Health research unit of the Division of Health Sciences, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick will host a collaborative studentship with GE Healthcare and the School of Public Health at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.
The project for this studentship is a critical analysis of the potential for innovation in health system design, implementation and normalisation in rural South Africa, including appropriate use of information and medical technology. Situated within the field of Health Policy and Systems Research, with a focus on low and middle income countries, the project will draw on multiple theories and perspectives in relation to health care systems and a range of methodologies including interviews, documentary analysis and secondary analysis of health related data.

Field work for the project will be undertaken throughout the second year of study at the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance Site. At this Site an annual census has been undertaken for nearly twenty years with around 90,000 people in the Bushbuckridge rural sub-district in the North East of South Africa. See: http://www.wits.ac.za/acadennic/healthipublichealth/agincourt/10398/1inc.html. The research unit that manages the site is part of the School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand. The research will consider the Agincourt Site as a case study with synthesis of theory, policy and data analysis.
The studentship will provide one return air fare for travel from UK to South Africa plus local travel expenses for fieldwork. The student will be expected to reside solely in close proximity to the Agincourt Site for the duration of the second year of study. The student will be given assistance in identifying appropriate accommodation.

Awards available: 1 award available

Funding Details: This studentship will provide full fees and an annual tax-free maintenance grant to the student of approximately £13,590 for up to three years.

Length of Award: 3.5 years (PhD)

Eligibility: This studentship is available to Home and EU students, according to fee status, that meet Research Council eligibility requirements based on residency. Potential applicants who are uncertain as to their eligibility should contact socialsciencesdtc@warwick.ac.uk.

Application Details:
Students for this award should have attained an Honours degree, class 2.1 or above, in a related discipline, and have passed, or expect to have passed by Autumn 2012, a Masters qualification from an ESRC recognised research training course or a Masters degree which includes a substantial research element at 60% or above, or equivalent research experience in a work setting. Previous experience of health systems research, as well as experience of living and/or working in a low or middle income setting will be an advantage. Drivers licence essential.
The academic contact for enquiries regarding this studentship is Professor Frances Griffiths, email: f.e.griffiths@warwick.ac.uk.
In your application you should explain your motivation and suitability for the award and include some reflections on how the project might be approached. If shortlisted you will be asked to expand on this writing.

For further details about this award please go to: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/med/study/researchdegrees/fs/wmsbasedfundedphdstudentships/

Deadline: 31st May 2012