3 Year PhD Studentship: Understanding factors predicting progression of Type 2 diabetes Ref: 2199

Exeter Medical School

University of Exeter

The University of Exeter Medical School is seeking to attract PhD candidates of outstanding ability to join their exciting and rapidly expanding programme of internationally rated research.
The successful candidate will undertake research that aims to improve the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes by understanding why some patients progress very rapidly and require intensive treatment, whereas others do not, and to be able to identify these patients in clinical practice.
Type 2 diabetes affects over 400 million people worldwide and one of the major worldwide causes of early death and disability. Many complications can be prevented through good control of blood glucose. The rate at which Type 2 diabetes progresses is markedly variable, this is likely to represent subtypes of diabetes with different physiology. Identifying patients who have rapidly progressive forms of diabetes would both allow doctors to target treatments that may slow diabetes progression to those most likely to benefit, and identify patients with ‘poor prognosis’ who require more intensive monitoring and treatment escalation. It may also aid in the development of new therapies aimed at delaying diabetes progression.
The successful candidate will use large collections of patient data and samples collected by the Exeter NIHR Clinical Research Facility team and the Medical Research Council ‘MASTERMIND’ research consortium to identify clinical features and biomarkers associated with rapid diabetes progression. This will include assessing genetic factors influenceing diabetes progression and working with data from industry trials and electronic healthcare records (‘big data’). There is the opportunity to adapt the proposed research to suit the research interest of the applicant. The student will work with the internationally recognised research team lead by Professor Andrew Hattersley at the University of Exeter and the Exeter led MASTERMIND consortium which is leading diabetes stratification research in the UK. They will develop extensive skills in clinical research and bioinformatics/statistics and answer questions directly relevant to patient care. The successful applicant will be expected to publish findings in high quality peer reviewed journals during the studentship.
Academic Supervisors:
Lead Supervisor:
Prof Andrew Hattersley Professor of Molecular Medicine & Consultant Physician
A.T.Hattersley@exeter.ac.uk
Co-supervisors:
Dr. Angus Jones, NIHR Clinician Scientist & Consultant Physician
angus.jones@exeter.ac.uk
Dr. Beverley Shields, Senior Lecturer in Medical Statistics
B.Shields@exeter.ac.uk
Funding Notes:
The studentship will be fully-funded for UK/EU students, including a stipend of £14,296 per annum (based on the full-time 16/17 rate). Tuition fees will be paid at the UK/EU rate. Candidates from countries outside the European Union will be liable for the difference between 'home student fees' and 'international student fees' which was just over £14,000 in 15/16 but is likely to increase slightly each year. Non-EU students who wish to be considered must confirm their ability to pay the international portion of the fee. If selected, financial assurances will be required.
Entry requirements:
Applicants should be highly motivated and have, or expect to obtain, either a first or upper-second class BSc (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline. International applicants must also have IELTS [International English Language Testing System] score of 7 and above (or equivalent qualification).

Funding information

Funding applies to:

Open to applicants from a range of countries

Funding notes:

Stipend of £14,296 per annum plus UK/EU fees for eligible students (2016-17 full-time rates)
Candidates from countries outside the European Union will be liable for the difference between 'home student fees' and 'international student fees' which was just over £14,000 in 15/16 but is likely to increase slightly each year. Non-EU students who wish to be considered must confirm their ability to pay the international portion of the fee. If selected, financial assurances will be required.

Contacts and how to apply

Administrative contact and how to apply:

For further information and details of how to apply please see here.

Application deadline:

17 June 2016