pain PhD Projects, Programs & Scholarships

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.

Background. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is an inflammatory arthritis presenting in children and young people. Pain is one of the main features of JIA and it is often described as one of the most burdensome yet invisible symptoms of this long-term condition.

Exploring how adolescents with chronic pain and their parents experience and make sense of living with pain: A focus on positivity and flourishing

University of Bath
Department of Psychology

Dr A Jordan, Dr S Halligan

Application Deadline: 14 October 2019

Funding Type

PhD Type

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.

Paediatric chronic pain is a major public health epidemic, costing society more than childhood obesity and asthma (Groenewald et al.

Assessment of excitability of Human pain neurons pain neurons using a novel calcium imaging assay

University of Sheffield
Department of Biomedical Science

Dr M Nassar

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.

Pain is an important warning system to guard against tissue damage. Pathological pain, however, has no warning value and has huge economical, social and personal costs on society.

(MRC DTP) Characterising chronic pain experiences in children and young people with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and chronic pain

The University of Manchester
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Dr L Cordingley, Prof W Thomson, Dr R Lee, Dr J McDonagh

Application Deadline: 15 November 2019

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.

The proposed PhD will investigate pain in children and young people with musculoskeletal conditions, including Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (or JIA).

Personalised rehabilitation for musculoskeletal and spinal pain

University of Birmingham
School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences

Dr A Rushton, Prof D Falla, Dr N Heneghan

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.

Our PhD students are an active part of our Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine). CPR Spine was established at the University of Birmingham in 2016 following a ~£1M investment awarded to Professor Falla and Dr Rushton.

MASTERS BY RESEARCH PROJECT: Neural mechanisms of the effects of social interactions on the pain experience

University of Bristol
School of Physiology and Pharmacology

Dr B Lumb, Dr S Quadfledg

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.

Start 23 September 2019. This MSc by Research is a laboratory-based project which offers the exciting opportunity to spend 1 year in one of our State-of-the-Art laboratories (plus 1 year thesis writing) at the University of Bristol and experience life as a researcher.

Developing and evaluating a primary care navigation intervention for children and young people who have dental pain

Queen Mary University of London
Institute of Dentistry

Dr V Muirhead

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.

Background. A significant proportion of children still suffer from dental problems that cause acute pain despite massive improvements in children’s oral health in the UK [1].

Digital manikins as a novel tool to measure self-reported pain in large-scale research studies

The University of Manchester
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Dr S Van der Veer, Prof W Dixon

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.

Moderate to severe pain affects 1 in 5 adults. It is among the most prominent symptoms of musculoskeletal disease, and substantially affects the quality of life of people suffering from it.

The impact of pain on the aging nervous system

University of Nottingham
School of Life Sciences

Dr G Hathway

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.

The way in which pain is detected and processed changes significantly over the life-course.

MASTERS BY RESEARCH PROJECT: Testing whether pain underlies the altered behaviour of zebrafish osteoarthritis mutants

University of Bristol
School of Physiology and Pharmacology

Dr C L Hammond

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.

Start 23 September 2019. This MSc by Research is a laboratory-based project which offers the exciting opportunity to spend 1 year in one of our State-of-the-Art laboratories (plus 1 year thesis writing) at the University of Bristol and experience life as a researcher.