PhD Studentship: Epilepsy Research Institute UK PhD Fellowship: Extracting added value from home EEG epilepsy diagnostics for children and young adults

The King’s College London research division of Digital Health and Applied Technology Assessment (DHATA) is inviting applications for a PhD studentship to commence on Monday 21 September 2026. 

One in 100 people have epilepsy, which accounts for 1% of all healthy life years lost in Europe. Its negative consequences are worsened by the diagnostic delay that occurs in up to 77% of patients, which predicts extra adverse neurodevelopment in children. This PhD project aims to improve and personalise epilepsy diagnostics for children and young adults, by applying new analytics to clinical home electroencephalography (EEG). The objectives are to leverage untapped value from ‘non-diagnostic’ EEG, by analysing i) sleep and ii) heart rate variability, and iii) stratifying data by multi-morbidity profile.

The PhD will be supervised by Dr Kimberley Whitehead (DHATA, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care (NMPC)) and Dr Joel Winston (Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, IoPPN).

The successful candidate will join a dynamic community of researchers at King’s who are studying epilepsy, neurodevelopment, and neurophysiology using signal processing and data science methods. In addition to project-specific training, the student will have free access to our in-person MRes Clinical Research module in Advanced Quantitative Research Methods, and a comprehensive programme of professional development courses. There is a lively post-graduate research culture at King’s, including 3-minute thesis events and an annual symposium.

This award is open to Home-fee students only. The appointee will have a strong background in health data science, software engineering, neuroscience, or similar. Applicants will normally hold, or be about to complete, a Master’s degree in a relevant field (Merit or above) or have equivalent experience, e.g. working full-time as a Research Assistant for a year. Programming proficiency is essential, ideally in MATLAB and/or R, and experience of time series analysis is desirable. We are looking for somebody who will contribute to and benefit from the vibrant in-person research culture at NMPC and IoPPN. This opportunity is not suitable for those who require to work from home. The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills with both scientific and lay audiences, as this project will involve patient and public engagement. We are also seeking an appointee who is motivated, passionate about healthcare science, and able to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team. This project is being generously funded by the Epilepsy Research Institute’s supporters, including those affected by epilepsy. There is an expectation that the candidate will engage with the donor. Applicants must be committed to this PhD opportunity, and preference will be given to those who have a proven ability to complete and deliver projects.

Informal enquires and visits to Dr Whitehead at her research division are encouraged (kimberley.whitehead@kcl.ac.uk).

Candidates must apply via the King’s Apply system, for Health Studies Research MPhil/PhD (Full-time). Quote the project title, and indicate Dr Whitehead as primary and Dr Winston as secondary supervisor. Please include:

• Your CV to ‘Employment History’.
• A 500-word statement outlining how you meet the eligibility criteria to ‘Supporting Statement’.
• Funding: Please choose Option 5 “I am applying for a funding award administered by King’s” and under “Award Scheme Code” enter 26KERI.
• Two references, with at least one being academic.

We encourage applicants to send the same paperwork to Dr Whitehead at the time that they submit it to King’s Apply.

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