Application deadline: 12 noon on Tuesday 11 January 2022.
Start date: 6 scholarships available for full-time or part-time study starting in October 2022.
PhD stipend: £19,919 per annum, plus travel and research funds and full funding for tuition fees.

The School of Biological Sciences in partnership with Edinburgh Infectious Diseases, is delighted to open applications for the seventh cohort of students on this Wellcome Trust funded four-year PhD programme.

The programme will start in October 2022 with deadline for application at 12 noon on Tuesday 11 January 2022.

Students will be supported to combine research in a UK and developing country setting, or take interdisciplinary approaches that combine epidemiological, molecular and evolutionary mechanisms. Students will address global health challenges by understanding how infectious agents are spread, cause disease, interact with the immune and other body systems, or evolve to overcome our therapeutic interventions.

Full details are available on the Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health Programme website at https://www.ed.ac.uk/edinburgh-infectious-diseases/teaching/phd-programmes/hosts-pathogens-global-health

Description of the programme

Year one: teaching and research rotation projects

In the first year of the programme students will attend a series of taught sessions and carry out two 15-week research projects in the main themes of study:

• Molecular Biology and Immunology
• Epidemiology, Evolutionary Biology and Ecology

At the end of the first year, reports from these research projects, plus a mock grant proposal based on their chosen PhD project, will be assessed for the MSc by Research degree awarded by the University of Edinburgh.

Years two to four: main research project

During the three main years of study, PhD projects shared between Edinburgh-based supervisors and their international collaborators will provide the opportunity for some students to undertake research projects in a disease endemic setting. Projects that link disciplines (for example, evaluating molecular reagents in an epidemiological study), will also be strongly encouraged.

Who should apply

We are looking for talented and motivated candidates who can demonstrate why they have chosen to apply for this programme, and what skills and attributes they will bring to it. Typically, applicants will have a strong appreciation of this field of study, a willingness to embrace collaborative, interdisciplinary research, and some hands-on research or other relevant experience. We warmly welcome candidates from a variety of academic disciplines, backgrounds and interests to apply.

In particular we would like to encourage students from black and other minority ethnic groups to apply, and are committed to assessing applications without reference to the name, age, gender or nationality of the candidates.

The programme will have an intake of six places, and is open to all students regardless of country of citizenship. Students should have at least a good 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent in a relevant subject. All students will have their fees paid in full, and will receive a generous starting stipend of £19,919 per annum, plus travel and research funds.

Please note that this is a basic science programme and candidates who are carrying out clinical or veterinary training are not eligible to apply.

Interviews

All applications must be received by the deadline of 12 noon on Tuesday 11 January 2022.
Successful candidates will be interviewed in late February 2022.

Contact us

If you have any questions please contact the Programme Administrator at wt-hpgh@ed.ac.uk.

Apply

All applications must be received through our website at https://www.ed.ac.uk/edinburgh-infectious-diseases/teaching/phd-programmes/hosts-pathogens-global-health/how-to-apply