PhD Studentship in autonomic nervous system

Post Summary

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland has an opportunity for a well-qualified applicant interested in PhD level research on exploring the relationship between cardiovascular functioning and adverse psychological states under the supervision of Professor Cathal McCrory Life Course Development and Ageing, Co-Principal Investigator TILDA and Regius Professor Rose Anne Kenny, Principal Investigator TILDA.

The fully funded candidate will be a core team member of the TILDA research group which is comprised of researchers, data managers, clinical fellows, students and an administrative team. A tax-free stipend of €25,000 per year is available, and PhD fees are also covered. The research project will also provide adequate funding for equipment, materials and travel (conferences, courses, etc) and is expected to complete in 4 years.

Description of project

In the classical ‘fight or flight’ stress response, sympathetic nervous system activation leads to increased secretion of catecholamines and glucocorticoids, which raise heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure. It is assumed this response is transient and that the physical systems return to baseline. However, repeated or chronic exposure to stress has lingering end-organ effects and excessive levels of catecholamines and their byproducts injure myocardial tissue and may lead to autonomic nervous system (ANS) dyregulation. ANS dysfunction has, in turn, been associated with worse physical and psychological health but the pathways and mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated.

The student will use repeat data from the TILDA survey to answer the temporal between ANS functioning and psychological health. Indicative questions are set out below, but the student will have the opportunity to help shape the substantive questions to be addressed by agreement with their project supervisors:

Background to the Post 

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing TILDA is the largest and most ambitious study of ageing ever conducted in Ireland and involves a nationally representative sample of 8,175 individuals aged 50 years and over who have been survey biennially since 2009. Six waves of data collection have now been completed. There are 3 components to the survey. Each participant completes (i) a computer-aided personal interview (CAPI) in their home (ii) a self-completion questionnaire (SCQ) and (iii) a detailed clinic-based health assessment in Trinity College Dublin.

The health assessment includes measures of cardiovascular and neurocardiovascular function, a comprehensive battery of cognitive and neuropsychological tests, measures of musculoskeletal functioning, anthropometry, as well as blood collection. The domains captured from the TILDA study reflect the multi-factorial causes of successful ageing and their interactions. These include but are not limited to:

• Economics (wealth and income, pensions, employment, financial transfers),
• Health (physical, cognitive, and mental health, disability, health behaviour, service needs and usage)
• Social relationships (quality of relationships and frequency of contacts, formal and informal care, social participation).
• Wellbeing (quality of life, loneliness, perceptions of ageing)

The diversity of the TILDA research group reflects the multi-disciplinary nature of the study and includes world-leading researchers in geriatrics, psychiatry, psychology, social science, bioengineering, biostatistics, economics, and health care management. There are over forty full time members in the current TILDA team which is comprised of researchers, data managers and administrative staff. TILDA has established a wide network of collaborators both within Ireland and internationally which ensures that TILDA remains on the cutting edge of research into ageing. The study is closely harmonized with other international longitudinal studies such as the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS) offering opportunities for comparative analysis.

NOTE: Applicants must have been resident in an EU member state for 3 out of the last 5 years to be eligible for EU fees 

Application Procedure

Applicants should submit a full Curriculum Vitae to include the names and contact details of 2 referees (including email addresses) and a statement of interest, to:

• Name: Prof Cathal McCrory, Professor in Life Course Development and Ageing
• Email Address: [email protected]

At Trinity, we are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. Trinity welcomes applications from all individuals, including those applicants with disabilities, those who may have had non-traditional career paths, those who have taken time out for reasons including family or caring responsibilities. We also welcome international applicants including those whom have been displaced due to war.

We are ranked 3rd in the world for gender equality (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2020) and we hold an Athena SWAN Bronze award, recognising our work to advance gender equality. The University is actively pursuing a Silver level award, which it has committed to achieving by 2025. Trinity is committed to supporting the work-life balance and to creating a family-friendly working environment