The Advanced Care Research Centre (ACRC) is a new, multi-disciplinary, £20M research centre at the University of Edinburgh. The ACRC will lead society’s response to the grand challenge of an ageing population that is growing in size, longevity and needs through the pursuit of research intended to deliver “high‐quality data‐driven, personalised and affordable care to support the independence, dignity and quality‐of‐life of people living in their own homes and in supported care environments”.
This project sits within the ACRC Academy , a dedicated Centre for Doctoral Training, co-located with the ACRC, whose students will deliver key aspects of the ACRC research agenda through a new doctoral-level research and training programme that will also equip them for careers across a wide range of pioneering and influential leadership roles in the public, private and third sectors.
The PhD with Integrated Study in Advanced Care is a novel, structured, thematic, cohort-based, programme of 48 months duration. Each PhD research project within the Academy has been devised by a supervisory team comprising academic staff from at least two of the three colleges within the University of Edinburgh. Each annual cohort of around twelve will include students with disciplinary backgrounds spanning from engineering and data science to humanities, social science, business and commerce, social work, medicine and related health and care professions. This unique level of diversity is a key attribute of our programme.
Project
Vision is our primary sense and a key determinant of independent function and life quality. A major proportion of brain function is devoted to visual processing allowing us to make sense of the world. Vision in general, and reading in particular sits at the heart of physical and emotional wellbeing for many people, from books to medicine bottles and communication with the outside world by email or text. Reading assumes especial importance in the context of frailty and poor mobility of older age, as highlighted in the current covid19 era forcing many elderly individuals to remain isolated indoors.
Increased lighting is required for reading and safe navigation as we age, more so for those affected by chronic eye diseases most commonly age-related macular degeneration (AMD). There is increasing reliance on backlit electronic devices and high output LEDs to enable reading. An undesirable consequence of excessive light exposure, especially shorter wavelength blue later in the day, is disruption to circadian rhythms mediated through neural connections between the eyes and brain. This impacts all aspects of physiology and health including sleep quality and cognitive functioning.
Following several of our recent successful PhDs, the use of head-mounted displays to aid reading in macular disease, the photobiology of blue light interactions with the retina and LED models of AMD, the purpose of this PhD project is to examine screen-based technologies to enhance reading performance, general health and quality of life of older people in their home environment. The successful student will investigate the interface between the benefit of screen-based technology and risk of intolerance in using increased ambient luminance for reading, and explore novel ways to remotely monitor the interaction in this clinically relevant project which usefully translates to patient care in the community.
Eligibility:
We are specifically looking for applicants who will view their cutting-edge PhD research project in the context of the overall vision of the ACRC, who are keen to contribute to tackling a societal grand challenge and who can add unique value to – and derive great benefit from – training in a cohort comprising colleagues with a very diverse range of disciplines and backgrounds. We advise prospective candidates to engage in dialogue with the named project supervisor and/or the Director of the Academy prior to submitting an application.
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