PhD Studentship: Understanding the Links Between Inflammation and Functional Neurological Disorders

The Department of Health Sciences, University of York, is inviting applications for a fully funded PhD studentship, available on a full-time basis to start in October 2019, on a collaborative research project between the Mental Health and Addiction Research Group (MHARG) and the Hull York Medical School (HYMS). The successful candidate will be part of the Mental Health and Addiction Research Group (MHARG) research team, and will be supervised by Professor Christina van der Feltz-Cornelis (MHARG), and by Dr. Dimitris Lagos (HYMS and York Biomedical Research Institute).

The overarching aims of this research project are to make advances in understanding how inflammation and functional neurological disorders (conversion disorder) are associated, and what role psychological trauma and subjective neurocognitive symptoms play in that. On the basis of research findings, this work will contribute to strengthening the knowledge base for developing effective interventions for patients with conversion disorders, a disorder that until now remains largely misunderstood.

Topics within the research project could include:

1. The role of inflammatory activity in development and course of conversion disorder
2. The role of subjective neurocognitive symptoms in conversion disorder
3. The role of psychological trauma in conversion disorder.

https://www.york.ac.uk/healthsciences/gradschool/funding/phd-studentships/cfc-studentship/