disease control PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project has funding attached for UK and EU students, though the amount may depend on your nationality. Non-EU students may still be able to apply for the project provided they can find separate funding. You should check the project and department details for more information.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic parasitic disease of significant public health concern in many parts of the world. For example, over 5,000 new CE cases are reported in South America every year and a recent study has estimated that more than 150,000 people in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey might be affected by CE.

Healthy building design for controlling infectious disease transmission in developing countries

University of Reading
School of the Built Environment

Dr Z Luo

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Infectious disease pandemics are brutal killers in human history. The recent COVID-19 outbreak in China has killed over 2.4K people globally, and more than 78K people are infected across 28 countries (As of 22th Feb 2020).

Modelling the spread and control of livestock and zoonotic infectious diseases

University of Warwick
School of Life Sciences

Assoc Prof M Tildesley, Dr E Gorsich, Prof M Keeling

Application Deadline: 7 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Mathematical models are extensively used in both public-health and veterinary-health policy planning. Modern predictive models are now at the heart of policy decisions, and such models are having an increasing role in supporting decisions associated with livestock infections.

Evaluating motor and cognitive function through gaze-control technology

University of Leicester
Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour

Dr D Souto

Application Deadline: 7 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Gaze-control technology has proved invaluable in assisting people with neurodegenerative conditions, such as Motor Neuron Disease (MND) or Cerebral Palsy (CP), at times dramatically improving their quality of life by extending their ability to communicate independently.

The Hippo pathway and Yap1 in vascular growth control in development and disease

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne

Prof B Hogan, Dr A. Cox

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but potential funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

Lymphatic vessels play roles in the drainage of tissue fluid, trafficking of immune cells and the metastatic spread of cancer.

Understanding the biomechanical changes associated with a popular walking programme to optimise care for individuals with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions.

Aberdeen University
School of Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition

Dr K Martin, Dr D Blana

Application Deadline: 29 May 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

This is an exciting, interdisciplinary project that brings together social science, data science and engineering, and will give the student invaluable skills for a career in academia or the medical technology sector.

Development of a rapid screening method for Carbapenemase-resistant Enterobacteriaceae using volatile and non-volatile metabolite profiles

The University of Manchester
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Dr S Fowler, Dr T Felton, Dr W Ahmed

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Nosocomial infections caused by Enterobacteriaceae are a major concern to clinicians. Species include Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter cloacae, all of which are prevalent in ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Structure and function of protein complexes of the eukaryotic glycoprotein folding quality control (ERQC) checkpoint enzyme, UGGT

University of Leicester
Molecular and Cell Biology

Dr P Roversi, Dr C Savva

Application Deadline: 7 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

A wonderfully efficient quality control enzyme in the eukaryotic cell detects and stops glycoproteins that are on the way to be secreted but need time to form properly.

Neuronal and biomechanical mechanisms underlying the control and plasticity of aimed limb movements

University of Leicester
Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour

Dr T Matheson, Dr R Swidbert

Application Deadline: 7 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

Most animal movements are driven by muscle contractions controlled by the nervous system, but there is now considerable evidence that passive forces, originating in muscles, tendons or other tissues, interact with active forces to generate limb movements in both vertebrates and invertebrates (Page et al.

Investigating the roles of spinal cholinergic interneurons in the control of respiratory circuits in health and disease

University of St Andrews
School of Psychology

Prof G Miles, Dr S Sharples

Application Deadline: 1 July 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project has funding attached, subject to eligibility criteria. Applications for the project are welcome from all suitably qualified candidates, but its funding may be restricted to a limited set of nationalities. You should check the project and department details for more information.

The Neural Control of Movement Lab (http://ncm.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk), within the School of Psychology & Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews (Scotland, UK), currently has a PhD studentship available (beginning January, 2021) for an enthusiastic and highly motivated student with a background in neuroscience.

The Consequences of Transmission Heterogeneities for Disease Outbreaks

University of Liverpool
Institute of Integrative Biology

Prof A Fenton, Prof M Viney

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

There are ever-increasing concerns about the threat of emerging infectious diseases, in both wildlife (e.g., rabies, chytridiomycosis in amphibians, white nose syndrome in bats etc.) and humans (e.g., covid-19, Ebola, pandemic influenza, etc.).

Cellular protein quality control in diabetes-associated heart disease: The insight into mechanisms and therapeutic potentials

The University of Manchester
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Dr V Liu, Dr L Swanton

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

Cardiovascular complications are the leading causes of diabetes mortality. With the exception of vascular and valvular injuries, diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a distinct myocardial disease, which is characterised by abnormal cellular metabolism and defects in organelles function, leading to impaired cardiac function.

The impact of gut microbiome and diet interplay on neurodegeneration

University of Reading
School of Biological Sciences

Dr E Kevei

Applications accepted all year round

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

"Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or Huntington’s disease represent major health risks and economic burden for the society.

Covid19 biomarker discovery for diagnostic and therapeutic purpose

University of Warwick
Department of Chemistry

Assoc Prof L Song, Prof E M H Wellington

Application Deadline: 7 June 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually the project which receives the best applicant will be successful. Unsuccessful projects may still go ahead as self-funded opportunities.

A novo coronavirus strain, belongs to the beta coronavirus genera, is responsible for the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic.

De Novo Mutations and Human Disease

University of Oxford
Radcliffe Department of Medicine

Prof A Goriely, Prof A Wilkie

Application Deadline: 24 July 2020

Funding Type

PhD Type

PhD Research Projects are advertised opportunities to examine a pre-defined topic or answer a stated research question. Some projects may also provide scope for you to propose your own ideas and approaches.

This project does not have funding attached. You will need to have your own means of paying fees and living costs and / or seek separate funding from student finance, charities or trusts.

De novo mutations (DNMs) are a significant contributor to human disease, affecting ~1:300 new births. We study the mechanisms by which these spontaneous mutations arise in the first instance, concentrating on the tissue where most of them originate, the human testis.