About the Project
Trauma exposure and cardiometabolic health
The University of Bristol is offering a 3.5 year full time PhD in research around Population Health to start in 2019. This studentship is funded through GW4BioMed MRC Doctoral Training Partnership. It consists of full UK/EU tuition fees, as well as a Doctoral Stipend matching UK Research Council National Minimum (£14,777 p.a. for 2018/19, updated each year).
Additional research and training funding is available over the course of the programme. This will cover costs such as research consumables, courses, conferences and travel. Additional competitive funds are available for high-cost training/research.
The studentship is based at the Bristol Medical School. For further information please see the website below.
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/medical-school/
Young people exposed to trauma are vulnerable to mental health problems. Trauma is increasingly linked to cardiovascular disease. This project straddles psychology and epidemiology, including epigenetics. It will investigate the role of trauma in shaping cardiometabolic health and potential underlying mechanisms using longitudinal cohort data.
Young people exposed to trauma are vulnerable to a range of adverse mental health outcomes. Increasing evidence links trauma exposure and associated mental health problems to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, there are important limitations to our knowledge in this area. First, most existing research has taken a disorder specific approach (i.e. studied PTSD, psychosis, depression separately), whereas available evidence shows that traumatic stress underlies a range of mental health difficulties, suggesting that a transdiagnostic approach is appropriate. Second, many existing studies are limited by sample size and retrospective reporting of the traumatic event. Third, we have limited understanding of the factors mediating associations between trauma related psychopathology and CVD. For example, trauma related symptoms of depression may lead to physical inactivity, which in turn increases CVD risk. In addition, inflammation, autonomic nervous system reactivity, endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress are all putative biological mechanisms. The successful applicant will straddle psychology and epidemiology, working at the interface between mental and physical health. The project will comprise include analysis of longitudinal cohort data, primarily ALSPAC (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/) but also UK Biobank, the Danish National Birth Cohort, HUNT, and Drakenstein Child Health Study, a South African cohort with a 70% prevalence of lifetime trauma. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to work in South Africa. As part of this project the successful applicant will: 1. Derive transdiagnostic profiles of longitudinal mental health symptoms that are associated with trauma exposure. 2. Examine associations between the resultant profiles and measures of cardiometabolic health. 3. Investigate potential underlying mechanisms – both behavioural and biological – e.g. smoking, HPA axis activation, epigentics. Training - the student will be trained in a range of cutting edge analytic methodologies for analysing longitudinal data. Capacity building in advanced statistical techniques is a goal of both the MRC and the ESRC, and is particularly desirable in psychology.The student will have free access to the SSCM, UoB short course (3 courses per year) and will be encouraged and assisted to identify further training opportunities outside UoB. Impact - the proposed project is an emergent research area with potential for clinical impact, as individuals exposed to trauma are disproportionately represented in health, social care and criminal justice services. Findings will be disseminated via both academic and clinical/service related networks. The student will capitalise on relevant PPI groups established via GW4 funding.
Candidate requirements: Applications are welcome from high performing individuals across a wide range of disciplines closely related to natural sciences, biostatistics, genetics, bio-chemistry, mathematics and computer science who have, or are expected to obtain, a 2.i or higher degree. Applications are particularly welcome from individuals with a relevant research Masters degree.
How to apply: Please make an online application for this project here: https://www.findaphd.com/search/PhDDetails.aspx?CAID=2940&LID=287
Contact: Abigail Fraser [Email Address Removed]