PSI-STAR Ireland PhD Studentships in Psychosis Research

The Psychosis Ireland Structured Research Training Programme (PSI-STAR) is an all-Ireland, cross-disciplinary training and research programme (https://psistarstudy.eu ). PSI-STAR is offering five PhD research and training studentships in psychosis research starting in October 2022. All five studentships will be provided by the newly established PSI-STAR consortium, a Health Research Board funded Collaborative Doctoral Award investigating the prevention, care and treatment of people experiencing psychosis. Each successful candidate will complete a structured 4-year doctoral training program leading to the award of a PhD.

All studentships include either an annual student stipend of €18,000 (projects 1-4) or an annual salary of €47,000 (project 5) and PhD fees for four years. All successful candidates will have access to additional allowances for training, travel and conference costs. Available projects will appeal to researchers from multiple disciplines and with a variety of methodological interests and expertise:

• Project 1: A mixed methods project to develop and explore the use of animations as a psycho-educational tool to reduce stigma about hallucinations and delusions among young people (based in RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin)
• Project 2: A participatory action project to co-design and trial a school-based intervention focused on distress associated with attenuated psychotic symptoms in young people (based in Queen’s University Belfast, QUB)
• Project 3: Prediction and prevention of psychosis using biological and other clinical and non-clinical cohort data (based in RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin)
• Project 4: A quantitative project to develop and test a prediction tool to forecast short- and long-term physical health comorbidities associated with First Episode Psychosis (FEP) (based in University College Dublin, UCD)
• Project 5: A mixed methods participatory action project to co-design, deliver and evaluate an educational support intervention to enhance the care of people admitted involuntarily with psychosis (open to allied health and mental health professionals only and based in National University of Ireland Galway, NUIG)

Successful candidates will join the PSI-STAR team, working with researchers, experts through lived experience, clinicians and other PSI-STAR PhD students to change how we think and respond to people who experience psychosis. PSI-STAR PhD candidates will join the Structured Population and Health-services Research Education (SPHeRE) programme, Ireland’s national research training programme for population health and health services research (www.sphereprogramme.ie ). They will also undertake national and international placements and have opportunities for professional networking and attendance at conferences. The PSI-STAR team welcomes applications from people with lived experience and from diverse backgrounds.

Closing date for all applications: Friday 08 July 2022
For more information and details of how to apply: www.psistarstudy.eu