BSMS > Postgraduate > Research degrees > PhD opportunities

PhD opportunities

All our current PhD studentship opportunities are listed on this page.

In order to apply, please visit the University of Brighton website by clicking the “Apply Now” link below, and select “Doctoral College” as the School. You should then select the project that you wish to apply for.

Apply for your PHD here >

We are also happy to consider applications from self-funded individuals, and for personally developed projects, we recommend an approach to a lead supervisor, following which you will have help and support with your application.

For self-funded and speculative applications, we require that you submit a research proposal alongside your application. Within this you should take the opportunity to clearly outline your research idea; your research methodology and critical approaches; experience; and original contribution to knowledge and key themes, concepts and ideas. See our guidance on writing a research proposal >

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Optimising Healthy Ageing in Trans and Non-Binary Adults

Supervisors: Professor Dunx Shrewsbury, Dr Nina Lockwood and Dr Elle Whitcroft

Application deadline: Monday 26 October 2026

Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

About the Project

Applications are invited for a 3.5-year full-time NIHR ARC KSS funded PhD studentship at Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

Project details: Trans and non-binary people face serious, well-documented health inequalities. They are twice as likely to experience long-term physical and mental health conditions, yet remain consistently underserved by healthcare systems. As people age, these inequalities compound. The healthcare needs of older trans and non-binary adults are almost entirely absent from research. This is a knowledge-gap that has real consequences for people’s lives.

We have funding to address this. The NIHR Applied Research Collaboration for Kent, Surrey and Sussex (ARC KSS) have supported a doctoral award dedicated to understanding and improving the health of trans and gender diverse adults in primary and community care settings. We are now looking for the right person to take this work forward.

We would particularly welcome applications from people with relevant community or lived experience, not as a tick-box, but because this research will be stronger, more meaningful, and more impactful if led by someone who understands this community from the inside. Academic background matters, but so does the knowledge that comes from having navigated these systems yourself, or from supporting others who have.

The UK’s ageing population is growing rapidly, with those aged 65 and over projected to represent 27% of the population by 2072, up from 19% in 2022. Ageing brings increased risk of long-term conditions and multimorbidity, and these risks fall disproportionately on marginalised communities.

For trans and non-binary people, barriers to healthcare are significant and well-evidenced. These include discrimination and cis-normative bias within services, exclusion from appropriate screening programmes, and in some cases, outright refusal of care. Research suggests these barriers lead to ‘missingness’ (a pattern where people disengage from healthcare systems) with downstream consequences for the detection and management of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes.

Sussex is a distinctive region for this work. It has the highest concentration of trans and non-binary residents in England and Wales, 5% in Brighton & Hove, 1% across Sussex, compared to a national average of 0.5%. The region is also home to two pioneering services: the NHS Sussex Trans, Non-Binary and Intersex (TNBI) Locally Commissioned Service, which funds general practices to provide targeted health checks and gender-affirming care; and the Sussex Gender Service, a community co-designed, NHS England-commissioned pilot providing holistic specialist care. Both services offer a rare opportunity to evaluate what good practice looks like and what difference it makes.

What the PhD will focus on

This project is intentionally broad in scope. It has been designed that way because we want the successful candidate to shape it. Your own experience, knowledge, and interests should drive the direction of the work. What we are looking for is a project that:

Generates evidence about healthcare access and health outcomes for older trans and non-binary adults
Involves meaningful partnership with trans and non-binary communities
Produces findings that can directly improve services and practice
Aligns with NIHR ARC KSS priorities around health equity, healthy ageing, and integrated neighbourhood-based care

Within these parameters, the shape of the project is yours to develop in collaboration with your supervisors and community partners. Illustrative components could include:

Analysis of primary care datasets to examine patterns of healthcare access and associations with management of long-term conditions
Qualitative and participatory research with older trans and non-binary people about their experiences of ageing and healthcare
Evaluation of existing regional services (the TNBI LCS, the Sussex Gender Service) including their impact on health outcomes and care experiences
Co-produced, creative, or arts-based methods to capture and communicate lived experience across the life course
Development of practical tools or recommendations to improve inclusive care in primary and community settings

Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE)

Working collaboratively with patients and public groups will be central to this project. We have established partnerships with community organisations and groups in the region, including with The Clare Project and Switchboard. You will build on these relationships to involve trans and non-binary people meaningfully at every stage in the project: in setting priorities, designing the study, interpreting findings, and sharing what you learn. We are committed to supporting you to do this well, with dedicated resources.

Research Environment

The studentship is hosted within the NIHR ARC KSS Primary and Community Healthcare Research Theme, based at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex. The theme is led jointly by Prof Carrie Llewellyn and Prof Dunx Shrewsbury and addresses four interconnected challenges:

integrated neighbourhood-first care
sustainable and greener primary care
healthy ageing for trans and non-binary adults and women
building research capacity across KSS

You will join a research environment with strong NHS partnerships, established relationships with VCSE organisations, and direct connections to community and clinical innovation in the region. You will also become part of the NIHR Academy Member community, with access to national career development infrastructure.

Funding Notes

This is a 3.5-year NIHR ARC KSS-funded PhD studentship, starting on 11 January 2026. Funding will cover tuition fees for UK students (including a £21,805 per annum stipend (UKRI rate 2026, with annual uplift). This is a directly funded PhD for UK applicants only.

How to apply: Applicants must apply through the University’s application Portal (StudentView) where they can submit a CV and complete the application form. The deadline for applications is Monday, 26 October 2026. Interviews will be held on Monday, 16 November. Informal enquiries are welcome and should be submitted to PrimaryCareARC@bsms.ac.uk.

BACKGROUND IMAGE FOR PANEL

Using Linked Data to Explore Risk Factors for Low Uptake of Cancer Screening in Women in Southeast England

Supervisors: Dr Elizabeth Ford, Dr Imogen Rogers, Prof C Llewellyn, Dr Maja Nikšić

Application deadline: Friday 4 September 2026

Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

About the Project

Cancer screening programmes for bowel, breast, cervical and lung cancer collectively prevent thousands of deaths annually in England, yet uptake remains persistently and inequitably distributed across the population, with sex-specific risk factors for low uptake, especially in women, and ethnicity and deprivation being strong intersecting variables. Significant gaps remain in understanding how other protected characteristics and potential health inequality risk factors; including disability, neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ status, long-term conditions or severe mental illness; compound screening inequity in women. This programme of PhD research aims to characterise women’s inequalities in cancer screening systematically, identify the highest-risk population combinations, and generate actionable insights to inform intervention design.

Study 1: Systematic review and narrative synthesis of published evidence on inequalities in uptake across one or more national NHS screening programmes.

While reviews exist for individual inequality axes, wide, comprehensive assessment of the breadth of evidence for individual characteristics has yet to be examined including where intersectionality may compound inequalities, and which factors specifically affect women and why.

Study 2: Linked data analysis of inequalities in screening uptake.

We will apply to link individual-level data from one or more national cancer screening programme datasets to a source of patient-level demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic data. Candidate linkage sources include the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD Aurum), a national dataset, and the Sussex Integrated Dataset (SID), formed of locally relevant linked NHS and social care records.

The analysis will examine uptake across multiple markers of potential disadvantage simultaneously, aiming to identify women’s specific barriers to participation, including geographic location, area-level deprivation, ethnicity, disability, autism spectrum conditions, SMI and other long-term conditions and, where data quality permits, LGBTQ+ status to identify which combinations of characteristics produce the greatest compounding of risk. A particular focus will be placed on identifying population clusters who are systematically and multiply disadvantaged in screening participation, building on the established literature and extending it to underexamined groups. If using local Sussex data, we could also conduct a geospatial analysis of service accessibility and uptake in breast screening clinics.

Study 3: Qualitative investigation of barriers and facilitators in high-risk groups.

Using the findings of national linked-data analysis identifying independent and intersecting predictors of non-participation, we will select one or two population sub-groups identified as facing the starkest and least-explained inequalities in screening uptake, we will conduct qualitative interviews or focus groups to understand the mechanisms behind non-participation. Women will be recruited through community and third-sector partners, with coproduction principles applied to the topic guide development and interpretation of findings. The findings will be synthesised, using an underpinning theoretical model, into actionable recommendations for commissioners, screening providers, and primary care, with direct relevance to NHS Integrated Neighbourhood Teams and their remit for proactive population health management in underserved communities.

Research Environment

This PhD will be based in the Department of Primary Care and Public Health (PCPH) at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), a joint medical school of the Universities of Brighton and Sussex with close integration with NHS Sussex and Sussex Local Authorities. The department hosts experts across a wide range of disciplines and methodologies, including general practice, public health, epidemiology, medical statistics, data science, psychology and behavioural medicine, with health inequalities as a unifying focus. The Health Data Science group uses routinely collected health data, disease registries, and large research cohorts to understand risk factors for disease, identify health inequalities, and develop digital health tools for healthcare improvement. The PhD is jointly funded by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. The ARC provides the PhD student with access to a wide network of applied researchers, knowledge mobilisation expertise, and public and community involvement infrastructure across the region, including dedicated support for co-production and implementation, both of which are central to the third study in this programme. The studentship holder will also benefit from support through the ARC KSS academy and benefit from being part of the ARC KSS PhD peer cohort. The academy will support PhD students in their research training, placements and will benefit from being a member of the NIHR academy.

Entry requirements

This studentship is suitable for those with background in medical statistics, public health, epidemiology, psychology, health data science or another relevant subject area with a good range of statistics training. We invite applications from students who have received or are on target to achieve a relevant undergraduate degree with minimum 2:1 classification (or equivalent). An MSc is preferred but not essential. We invite candidates who have experience with and commitment to research inclusion and public and community involvement and engagement.

How to apply

Applicants must apply through the University’s application portal (StudentView) where the project will be listed. The deadline for applications is Friday 4 September 2026. Interviews will be held in September or October 2026. Informal enquiries are welcome and should be submitted to Dr Elizabeth Ford e.m.ford@bsms.ac.uk.

Funding Notes

This is a 3.5-year PhD studentship funded by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration in Kent, Surrey and Sussex funded, with a projected start date of 1 January 2027. Funding will cover tuition fees for UK students (at the Home rate), a stipend at the current UKRI rates and a research allowance which will cover research project and training costs. International applicants are welcome to apply but will be required to cover the difference between Home and International fees.

PhD studentships now recruited

Coping Strategy Enhancement - adapting the intervention for the treatment of hallucinations in the context of dementia
Developing a co-designed brief, low cost and scalable intervention for student carer mental health and wellbeing
Optimising infection prevention and control in healthcare settings through applied genomics and prediction
Determining the role of long non-coding RNA in the pathogenisis of high-risk gain(1q) positive, multiple myeloma
Detection and characterisation of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM)
Development of a new treatment for osteoarthritis
Substance use in relation to the mental and sexual heath of vulnerable adolescents and young adults under 25 in coastal areas of Kent and Sussex
The mental health and wellbeing needs of looked after and displaced children in southeast England
Helping young people to live successfully with long-term health issues
Resourcing Resilience: Positive psychology among adolescents living with HIV
Widening access to psychological interventions for diverse communities: exploring the potential of community-led interventions
Co-producing stigma-proof mental health interventions with and for newcomers (asylum seekers, refugees and migrants) in southeast England
Defining Mycobacterium tuberculosis in lung tissue – a novel discovery platform for new vaccine and drug targets
Epidemiology of cancer in the elderly (aged > 65 years) in England
The roles of oxidative stress and redox regulation in chronic inflammatory disease (Supervisors: Dr Lisa Mullen, Prof Pietro Ghezzi, Prof Kevin Davies)
Pillars of Expertise: Visual Perception & Memory (Supervisors: Dr Natasha Sigala, Prof Mara Cercignani
Investigating the genetic basis of osteosarcoma in children & dogs (Supervisors: Prof Sarah Newbury, Dr Peter Bush, Dr Chris Jones)
The embodiment of unconscious knowledge in maladaptive behaviour (Supervisors: Prof Hugo Critchley, Dr Sarah Garfinkel, Prof Dora Duka)
Can simulation clarify diagnostic skills for newly qualified doctors? (Supervisors: Dr Inam Haq, Dr Wesley Scott-Smith)
Impact of oxytocin on emotional regulation in binge drinking and alcoholism: behavioural, physiological and fMRI investigations (Supervisors: Prof Hugo Critchley, Prof Dora Duka)
Developing an algorithm for predicting children with severe asthma (Supervisors: Prof Somnath Mukhopadhyay, Dr Katy Fidler)
Development of a refined model of neuropathic pain: a model without frank nerve injury (Supervisors: Dr Andrew Dilley, Prof Pietro Ghezzi)
Role of secreted oxidoreductases in osteoarthritis, rheumathoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus (Supervisors: Prof Pietro Ghezzi, Dr Manuela Mengozzi)
Measuring quality of life in severe dementia: validation of DEMQOL-Proxy in family and professional carers of people with severe dementia (Prof Sube Banerjee, Prof Naji Tabet)
Stigma in health care: Does it influence the way general practitioners record consultations? (Supervisors: Dr Elizabeth Ford, Prof Helen Smith, Prof Flis Henwood)
Interoception and preventative intervention for anxiety in adults with autism (supervisors: Dr Sarah Garfinkel, Prof Hugo Critchley)