PhD Studentship: Modelling the Impact of Homelessness and Related Social Exclusions on Health in the UK

University of Bristol | Bristol, UK | Fully funded | 4 years

Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD to develop novel mathematical models investigating how homelessness and related forms of social exclusion affect health in the UK.

Homelessness is strongly associated with poor health and premature mortality, but people experiencing homelessness often face multiple, interconnected forms of social exclusion, including drug use and incarceration. Understanding how these experiences interact — and how interventions can reduce their health consequences — is an important and relatively underdeveloped area for mathematical modelling.

The PhD will combine advanced statistical analysis of UK datasets with mathematical and infectious disease modelling to investigate these relationships and evaluate potential interventions.

The project

The student will initially investigate three important health outcomes:

• Infectious diseases, including hepatitis C
• Skin and wound infections
• Mortality

The project will involve analysing existing UK data to understand the prevalence, duration and overlap of homelessness, drug use and incarceration, and how these experiences are associated with health outcomes.

The student will then develop a dynamic mathematical model of homelessness and related social exclusions in the UK. This model will be used to quantify the contribution of different forms of social exclusion to health harms and explore the potential impact of interventions.

There is scope to develop the project according to the student's interests, including consideration of other physical or mental health outcomes and different approaches to modelling social determinants of health.

What will you learn?

This is an interdisciplinary project providing training in:

Mathematical and infectious disease modelling
Advanced statistical and epidemiological methods
Analysis of complex longitudinal and linked datasets
Dynamic modelling of populations and social transitions
Model calibration, validation and uncertainty analysis
Evaluation of health and policy interventions

The project offers an opportunity to work at the interface of infectious disease modelling, epidemiology, health inequalities and population health, addressing questions with direct relevance to UK public health policy.

Research environment

The project is based at the University of Bristol, with collaboration across the GW4 institutions and with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The supervisory team is:

Dr Jack Stone, University of Bristol
Professor Peter Vickerman, University of Bristol
Dr Ian Thomas, Cardiff University

The student will have opportunities to work with researchers across mathematical modelling, epidemiology, infectious diseases and population health, as well as access to a wider network of collaborators and datasets.

Who are we looking for?

We welcome applicants with a strong quantitative background and an interest in applying mathematical or statistical methods to important public health questions.

Applicants would normally have a first or upper-second-class degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject such as mathematics, statistics, medical sciences, epidemiology, computing or another quantitative discipline.

Experience with programming, statistical analysis or mathematical modelling would be advantageous, but applicants do not need to have experience across all of these areas.

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who is enthusiastic about developing quantitative approaches to understand health inequalities and the health consequences of social exclusion.

Funding and eligibility

This is a fully funded four-year PhD starting 1 October 2027.

The studentship includes:

UK tuition fees
A stipend of £21,805 per year for 2026/27, increasing annually in line with the UK Research Council minimum
Up to £5,000 per year for additional research training and support
Funding is available to UK and international applicants, with international tuition-fee differences covered by the programme

Part-time study is also available.

Key dates

Application deadline: 5pm, Wednesday 21 October 2026
Interviews: 26–27 January 2027
Start date: 1 October 2027

Project code: PHS27Br Stone

For further information and to apply, see the GW4 BioMed PhD opportunity and FindAPhD project page.

Informal enquiries: Dr Jack Stone — jack.stone@bristol.ac.uk