PhD Studentship in the School of Dentistry

Horizon 2020: ADVOCATE (Added Value for Oral Care) Project

Supervisors: Professor G Douglas, Professor H Whelton, Dr J Csikar

A full time PhD studentship is available for immediate start for UK and EU citizens only. The studentship will attract an annual tax-free stipend of £14,273 for up to 3 years, subject to satisfactory progress and will cover the UK/EU tuition fees. 

You should hold a first-degree equivalent to at least a UK upper second class honours degree in a relevant subject and a master’s degree in a health services research field such as health sciences, health economics, health psychology, public health, health informatics. This project would suit a student with a high level of knowledge about health services or systems within the UK or EU and an understanding of systematic review methodology.

Candidate whose first language is not English must provide evidence that their English language is sufficient to meet the specific demands of their study, the Faculty minimum requirements are:

•      British Council IELTS – score of 6.5 overall, with no element less than 6.0

•      TOEFL iBT – overall score of 92 with the listening and reading element no less than 21, writing element no less than 22 and the speaking element no less than 23.

Research Project:

The goal of this project is to develop an improved model for oral health care delivery. It involves working with academic partners to develop processes that will encourage preventive practices of health professionals towards a more preventative model of healthcare delivery. This model can be used to inform similar projects in the wider health agenda, such as obesity and cancer.

You will be responsible for design, planning and execution of a PhD study (with support from the academic supervisors) that will be embedded within the ADVOCATE project. There will be flexibility depending on the successful candidate’s interests but he/she will work with a multi-disciplinary research team across the EU over the three-year period to deliver the objectives of ADVOCATE. He/she will contribute to report writing, manuscripts and presentations.

The project aims to:

•           design an innovative healthcare ecosystem that promotes the prevention of chronic diseases. It will identify the most effective and efficient system design that focuses on disease prevention and health promotion.

•           establish a set of indicators for prevention of disease to reduce unnecessary treatment. It will monitor health outcomes and develop good practice in preventive oral health care.

•           provide evidence-informed guidance to policy and decision makers to improve health systems planning. Key clinical and patient-centred health outcome information will be fundamental in this project for health care monitoring, needs-based health workforce planning, as well as shaping safe, efficient, and inclusive pathways of health care.

How to apply:

To apply for this studentship applicants should send a personal statement together with a CV (including the details of 2 academic referees), degree certificates and transcripts to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Graduate School – fmhgrad@leeds.ac.uk. Any queries regarding the application process should be directed to fmhgrad@leeds.ac.uk.

Potential applicants are welcome to contact Professor Gail Douglas with informal enquiries about this research project Email: g.v.a.douglas@leeds.ac.uk