PhD studentship: Addressing Challenges in Investigating Causal Relationships between Environment and Healthy Ageing

Award summary

100% of home tuition fees paid and annual living expenses at UKRI rate, currently £18,622 per year. A research training support grant of £5000 per year is available to cover research costs (e.g. data costs) and local/national/international travel (e.g. conferences).

Successful international candidates will be required to fund the difference between the home fees and international fees.

Overview

This project will focus on investigating the environmental impact on disability and health in older people and addressing methodological challenges related to quantitative analysis. Based on the World Health Organization, healthy ageing is defined as ‘the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age’ and is made up of the interaction between intrinsic capacity (individual’s physical and mental conditions) and the environment (the context of an individual’s life). To investigate how the environment can support healthy ageing, recent epidemiological research has highlighted the potential for integrating geospatial data (e.g., green spaces, local services) and ageing cohorts and investigating the relationships between environmental factors and health conditions in older people. However, there are many methodological challenges, including multiple issues in statistical (longitudinal analysis, measurement errors), epidemiological (confounding effects, selection bias) and ageing research (loss to follow-up, mortality). The PhD student will utilise existing environmental data and cohort studies and choose to investigate some of these issues based on their interests.    

Number of awards

1

Start date

September 2024 

Award duration

3 years full time.

Application closing date

2^nd April 2024

Sponsor

Newcastle University

Name of supervisor/s

Dr Yu-Tzu Wu, Dr Andrew Kingston (Population Health Sciences institute)

Eligibility Criteria 

Applicants should possess a minimum 2:1 degree in statistics, epidemiology, public health, data sciences, mathematics or a related field that includes a substantial quantitative analysis component. While a Master's degree in a relevant subject with Merit or higher is preferred, it is not mandatory.

Candidates must be eager to develop advanced epidemiological and statistical analysis abilities. A keen interest in healthy aging research is crucial. Familiarity or experience with statistical software (e.g., Stata, R) is a plus.

If your first language is not English you need an overall IELTS score of 6.5 (at least 5.5 in all sub-skills) or equivalent language qualification. International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme.

How to apply

For details of how to apply, please see https://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/fees-funding/search-funding/?code=ph035

Contact Details

Yu-Tzu Wu (yu-tzu.wu@newcastle.ac.uk)

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