PhD Studentships investigating cognitive impairment in psychotic disorders

The Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, is pleased to announce one PhD Studentship to start in October 2024. The PhD student will be a part of the Mental Health Mission. We particularly welcome applications from people from backgrounds that are under-represented in research.

The studentship will be hosted within the Department of Psychiatry. The Department has an outstanding international reputation in research, rated the best psychiatry department in the UK and in Europe, and has excelled in the last three Research Assessment Exercises. The University of Cambridge is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world. The Department welcomes applications for a PhD Studentship to conduct research for a doctoral degree from candidates with a good degree in psychology, medicine, neuroscience, or a related discipline.

This project will involve piloting and evaluating the first large scale mobile phone based cognitive assessments of memory and problem solving in UK patients with first episode psychosis. The pilot could lead to early identification of cognitive problems and increased uptake of treatments targeting cognitive problems and also pave the way for invitations into clinical trials of new treatments. Mobile phone based cognitive assessment will be linked with rich clinical data delivered through advances in electronic health record infrastructure. The combination of large scale cognitive and clinical and demographic data provides a rich environment to pose questions about the factors that underpin cognitive problems in psychosis. The student will assess staff and service user experience of the pilot, and will use the research dataset acquired to answer questions about factors contributing to cognitive impairment, potentially helping development of new treatments. The overarching aim will be to investigate the potential for clinical and research utility of large-scale mobile phone based cognitive assessment in first episode psychosis.

Applicants for the Studentships should have, or expect to gain a 1st class or a high 2.1 class Honours degree in an appropriate subject, and ideally will also have completed further research training, research assistant post or a Master's degree. The stipend will be paid at RCUK rates for the 3-year duration of the award. Only the fees for home students will be met. Students who are not eligible for 'Home' fee status will need extra funding to cover the difference with Overseas fees. https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/finance/fees

To apply, please email the following documents:

• An academic CV
• A cover letter indicating a brief summary of your research interests, any completed research conducted, interests and skills in statistical methods, and analyses.

Applications must be received by midnight on January 26th 2024. Interviews will be held the 13 and 14th of February.

Applications and enquiries regarding the administration of the application process and further information should be directed via email to Mrs Adisa Broadhurst, Education Supervisor [email protected] . Enquiries regarding the scope of the PhD or funding should be directed via email to Professor Graham Murray ([email protected] ) and Dr Christelle Langley ([email protected] ).

About The Department of Psychiatry

The Department of Psychiatry promotes the mission of the University of Cambridge to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. Our particular focus is on the determinants of mental health conditions, their treatments and the promotion of mental health through innovative translational research. The Department has wide ranging collaborations within Cambridge Neuroscience, the broader University and beyond into the international scientific and policy communities. We also enjoy strong links with industry, social care and the voluntary sector and the NHS, particularly with the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Foundation Trust to which many of our staff contribute clinical services.

We are an internationally leading centre for research, teaching and clinical practice in psychiatry. The Department's senior staff support several research groups, covering various aspects of mental health and disorder throughout the life course.

The Department of Psychiatry has been rated one of the UK's nationally leading research groups in the three most recent Research Assessment Exercises, and it plays a leading role in the internationally excellent Cambridge Neuroscience community of researchers in neuroscience and mental health. The department maintains close working relationships with two NHS trusts, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation NHS Trust and the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and also enjoys extensive interactions and on-going collaborative projects with other university departments and has much national, international and industrial collaboration.

Mental Health Mission

The Mental Health Mission will build on existing centres of research excellence to extend research capacity across the whole UK, particularly in areas with high prevalence of mental illness. It will establish the UK as the place to conduct innovative mental health research by bringing together the UK research base, full national NHS coverage and partnership with industry and regulators. This will unlock potential for the UK to drive both improvements in population mental health and economic growth.