PhD Studentship: Helping People to Understand Their Symptoms During a Disease Outbreak

We are excited to offer two, fully funded PhD studentships as part of a collaboration between King’s College London and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). 

1^st supervisor: Professor James (gideon.rubin@kcl.ac.uk)

2^nd supervisor: Dr Louise Smith (louise.e.smith@ukhsa.gov.uk) and Dr Alex Martin (alex.f.martin@kcl.ac.uk) [studentship 1]); Dr Dale Weston (dale.weston@ukhsa.gov.uk) and Professor Richard Amlot (richard.amlot@ukhsa.gov.uk) [studentship 2]) 

Both studentships focus on understanding the challenges people face during an infectious disease outbreak or pandemic, particularly when it comes to interpreting physical symptoms. When an infection is circulating, how do people decide what their own cough, aching muscles or a sense of fatigue mean and what actions, if any, they need to take? Are these issues more challenging for some people, such parents of young children, people with chronic illness, or people who are exposed to misinformation? And how can public health agencies communicate with the public to help them make informed decisions about symptoms without causing alarm?

Working within a friendly and supportive team of psychology and infectious disease experts from King’s and UKHSA, the two students will tackle these issues using a combination of systematic reviews, qualitative interviews, surveys and experimental studies. We expect one student will focus on symptoms attributed to an infectious illness (e.g. pandemic flu) and the other will focus on symptoms attributed to medication or vaccination.

The studentships are likely to be most suitable for people with an undergraduate or masters degree in psychology or a related subject. 

Applicants must complete and submit an online admissions application, via the admissions portal by midnight (23:59 GMT), 18 May 2025.

On the ‘Choosing a programme’ page, please select Department of Psychological Medicine Research MPhil/PhD (Full-time).

More information on the department and the programme is available at the departmental prospectus page here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/areas/psychological-medicine-research-mphil-phd

In your application, you will be asked to include:

• Academic Transcripts - where applicable, academic transcripts must be submitted with the online admissions application
• Details of your qualifications - you will need to attach copies
• Details of previous employment - please include your CV
• A personal statement describing your interests and why you wish to apply for this project. Please include this as an attachment rather than using the text box.
• Academic References – all admissions applications require one supporting reference. If the applicant is relying on their referees to submit a reference directly to the College after they have submitted their admissions application, then the applicant must ensure that (1) their chosen referee is made aware of the funding deadline (i.e. 7 days from application deadline) and (2) that the reference needs to be sent from an institutional email address.

In the Funding section, please tick box 5 and include the following reference: (GJR-HPRFA-Sympt-25)

Please note there is no need to complete the Research Proposal section in your application as the project has already been set. You are welcome to email Professor James Rubin (Gideon.rubin@kcl.ac.uk) for more information regarding the project and studentship.

If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact the Education support team at ioppn.pgr@kcl.ac.uk.

References must be received by the deadline for the applicant to be eligible. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Interview date: 6 June 2025 

Funding Details

Students will be fully funded for three years full time, to include home tuition fees (studentship not available to Overseas applicants), annual stipend and all research and travel costs. Additional funding is also available from within the team to cover ‘added value’ activities that might arise during the course of your studies. 

To be treated as a Home student, candidates must meet one of the following criteria:

• A UK national (meeting residency requirements)
• Settled status
• Pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements)
• Indefinite leave to remain or enter

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