Pain is a complex sensory and emotional experience that is virtually unavoidable and can negatively impact people's health and functioning. Despite its significance, our scientific understanding of pain remains limited. The gold standard approach for studying and assessing pain is self-report, which can be unreliable in various clinical and real-world scenarios. However, several behavioural and physiological features covary with pain experience, including movement kinematics (in facial expression and body movements) and autonomic physiology (heart rate, skin conductance), yet remain largely understudied.
We invite outstanding PhD candidates to join our Bristol (UK) and Macquarie (Australia) teams and address these challenges through a pioneering theoretical and methodological framework. The research will harness novel wearable multimodal technologies for capturing behaviour and physiological signals and apply cutting-edge data-driven methodologies to investigate and identify objective markers of pain experience, with potential for clinical and research applications.
The project will be jointly supervised by Dr. Hélio Cuve at the University of Bristol and Assoc. Prof. Tim Doyle at Macquarie University in Sydney, with the student spending two years at each institution. Dr. Cuve is an Experimental Psychologist, and an expert in physiological and behavioural markers of emotional processes, while Assoc. Prof. Tim Doyle specialises in biomechanics, injury, and human performance. If you are interested in applying for this position, please contact Dr. Cuve in the first instance at [Email Address Removed] for more information on the application process.
Entry Requirements
An upper second-class honours degree (or equivalent) in Psychology or a related discipline is required for entry to this programme. Those with degrees in neuroscience, computer science, health-related fields, and/or data science are particularly encouraged to apply.
While having an MSc is desirable, it is not a strict requirement. The ideal candidate will also demonstrate strong analytical and communication skills, the ability to collaborate effectively, and experience or interest in behavioural neuroscience, data-driven methods, and programming for research and data analysis (e.g., R, Python, Matlab).
For English language requirements, please refer to the entry requirements as detailed in the postgraduate prospectus.
How to Apply
When making your application, please use the programme title Psychology (PhD) (Macquarie) and indicate the supervisor name and the project title on the form. Please ensure you provide all supporting documents as per the programme admissions statement.
Please use the link provided on this page to apply online: PhD Psychology | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol
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