Research profile

The Usher Institute supervises postgraduate research students in a wide range of population health disciplines, including epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, health promotion, health services research, medical statistics, molecular epidemiology and sociology and on a wide range of topics including allergic and respiratory disease, clinical trial and statistics methodology, eHealth, ethnicity and health, genetic epidemiology of complex diseases, global health, palliative care and cancer, society and health and families and relationships.

A principal aim is to foster interdisciplinary research involving quantitative and qualitative approaches via effective collaboration with biomedical scientists, epidemiologists, social scientists and clinical researchers throughout the University and beyond.

Before Applying

Before submitting an online application, prospective students should contact an academic members of staff who may act as first supervisor in order to align their research proposal with one of the Institute's main areas of research.

Training and support

Students will be integrated within the existing student-led approach at the Usher Institute, where structures are already in place to ensure a high-quality student experience.

The Centre for Population Health Sciences, which forms a large part of the Usher Institute, has a thriving PhD community with well-developed management and administrative structures.

University Quality Assurance monitoring and reporting processes will be adhered to. All supervisors will satisfy University requirements in terms of training and mentoring.

Expectations on the students, including assessment guidelines, will be clearly communicated by multiple channels (e.g. at interview, during induction, in the Postgraduate Research Student and Supervisor Handbook, by supervisors, at annual review meetings and on relevant web pages). All students will have at least two supervisors who will also give pastoral care and career advice in addition to student services provision.