Applications are invited for a PhD scholarship in Art, Media Arts or Design Research focusing on collaboration in/with bioscience. The successful applicant will join Lab4Living (L4L) a trans-disciplinary community of researchers in art, design, healthcare and other creative practices, working to address real world health and wellbeing issues.
From the use of stem cells engineered to repair diseased or damaged tissue, to gene editing tools designed to correct life-threatening genomic errors, advanced knowledge of biological systems has the potential to radically improve health and wellness- but often only for the wealthy few. At the same time, other life-saving and affordable treatments remain largely unavailable for the majority of the world’s population e.g., vaccines. This emergent “Biomedical Divide” is fuelled by economic disparities and ongoing ethical breaches, but also by a failure to acknowledge the primary role that multiple social determinants, including race, gender and sexuality, play in health and disease outcomes. The loss of traditional knowledge exchange mechanisms between clinicians and patients in favour of digital medicine is further accelerating this gap, especially as the biological and computational inevitably converge. Collectively, these systemic factors prevent citizens from understanding and/or exerting control over their own health.
This practice-based PhD will explore how artistic and design methodologies can be productively combined with biomedicine to help improve and sustain health and wellness in more inclusive and diverse ways. The research involved will build upon established models of collaboration operating across disciplinary boundaries.
The project will be directed by Professor Peter Lloyd Jones and Dr Kaisu Koski. Prof Jones’ work between art, design, healthcare and laboratory medicine lies at the forefront of trans-disciplinary research (see LabStudio and MEDstudio) and Dr Koski’s pioneering artistic research challenges bio-social and technological divides.
We are seeking proposals that combine philosophies and practices from the laboratory, studio, clinic and social care systems. We anticipate inquiries that may be high-risk, non-linear and driven by hypothesis and/or the iterative methods of artistic research. Examples of directions might include deploying artistic insight to challenge the conventions of imaging in biomedical communication; exploring the interaction between biomedicine and computing; using artistic and design research to explore how biomedical research and climate science interact; or exploring how we might re-imagine intensely political scientific contexts such as genome technologies.
PhD Study in Art, Design & Media Practice at SHU
You will join a vibrant PhD programme which, since 2017, has returned sector leading scores in the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey. Our research study environment draws together an emphasis on practice, studio models of self-organising, interdisciplinary and University-level training, and innovative postgraduate research conferences on the topics of research METHOD and research IMPACT.
Funding
Scholarships are available to Home and International students for 3 years of full-time or 5 years of part-time funding to include:
- University tuition fees at Home levels. If you are required to pay tuition fees at the International rate you will be expected to fund the difference between the Home and International fees
- An annual maintenance stipend at standard UKRI national minimum doctoral stipend rates: £15,609 per annum for 2021/22 full-time study; £7,805 per annum for part-time study. The stipend is paid on a monthly basis and is intended to cover basic living costs to enable you to undertake your studies.
For more information visit: Tuition fees for EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals
How to apply
We strongly recommend that you contact Professor Peter Lloyd Jones ( [Email Address Removed] ) or Dr Kaisu Koski ( [Email Address Removed] ) to discuss your research ideas before submitting an application. You will need to submit a research proposal outlining the central questions, current knowledge on this topic and context for the enquiry your proposed methodology. Please also supply a CV including exhibitions/presentations and online links to practice documentation.
Sheffield Hallam welcomes applications from all candidates irrespective of age, pregnancy and maternity, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or belief, or marital or civil partnership status.
For PhD enquiries or advice please contact Dr Becky Shaw, Postgraduate Research Tutor for Art, Media Arts and Design at [Email Address Removed]
For general enquires please contact the Cultural & Creativity Research Institute Postgraduate Research Team at [Email Address Removed]
For more information about how to apply and an application form please visit https://www.shu.ac.uk/research/degrees/apply
Submit your application to [Email Address Removed] . The closing date for applications is 23:30pm on 14th June 2021.
Selection process
Interviews will take place week commencing 12 July 2021 by videoconference. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to deliver a 10 minute presentation on their research proposal followed by an interview.
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