PhD Studentship: Indoor temperature and air quality conditions in vulnerable settings in South Gloucestershire Council

Title of studentship: Indoor temperature and air quality conditions in vulnerable settings in South Gloucestershire Council

The project:

South Gloucestershire Council declared a climate emergency in 2019. As observed in the UK generally, South Gloucestershire also has an ageing population. Many of these older residents have additional needs such as appropriate housing and services. Although the elderly are an import vulnerable population, other populations such as small children, can also be vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Although South Gloucestershire has slightly above average levels of employment and health, much of the inequality is hidden when looking at the overall figures for the council. This has resulted in large numbers of people experiencing limited economic, physical, and mental health and well-being opportunities.

One of the key aspects of their local plan is improved resilience and adaptation to climate change impacts. These impacts include, amongst others, heat waves and flooding. South Gloucestershire Council has plans to explore the impacts of extreme heat on care homes in particular. The PhD project will aim to evaluate the impact of several such intervention. It has been developed together with South Gloucestershire Council, and this work will be embedded within their developing climate adaptation programme.

The outcomes of the PhD will, in additiona to academic outputs, lead to real-world applications of effective interventions to reduce the impact of climate change impacts on vulnerable populations in the region.

How to apply:

Please make an online application for this project at http://www.bris.ac.uk/pg-howtoapply. Please select Population Health (PhD) on the Programme Choice page. You should refer to the project title and supervisor in your application. You will be prompted to enter details of the studentship in the Funding and Research Details sections of the form.

Candidate requirements: 

• First or upper second class UK honours degree and/or merit or distinction in a MSc degree in environmental sciences, public health, or allied discipline.
• Knowledge of climate change induced challenges on public health in the UK.
• Experience with quantitative data and analysis; ideally with experience in R or Stata.
• A background in environmental health, environmental science, or public health would be beneficial.

Funding:

The studentship will cover full tuition fees and a minimum stipend equivalent to the UKRI tax-free stipend of £17,668 per annum (22/23) for 4 years, and an additional £2000 p.a. contribution to Research and Travel costs.

Contacts:

Supervisory team:

Dr Patricia Albers patricia.albers@bristol.ac.uk (Population Health Science, Bristol Medical School)

Prof Frank de Vocht frank.devocht@bristol.ac.uk (Population Health Science, Bristol Medical School)

Prof Guy Howard guy.howard@bristol.ac.uk (Cabot Institute for the Environment Director, Department of Civil Engineering)

Dr Robert Hayward (South Gloucestershire Council)

General enquiries: fls-pgenquiries@bristol.ac.uk

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