MRC funded studentships in Life Course Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Three Medical Research Council (MRC) Studentships are available from 
October 2012 for students undertaking a PhD for the first time in the 
Faculties of Medicine and Health or Biological Sciences at the 
University of Leeds.We have several potential projects in Life Course 
Epidemiology and Biostatistics, listed below. Information on how to 
apply can be found at:

http://www.findaphd.com/search/PhDDetails.aspx?CAID=860

The deadline for applications is March 17th. If you are interested in 
one of the projects below, we ask that you please get in touch with the 
lead supervisor before submitting an application.

Impact of patient lifestyle on longer-term outcomes after 
hospitalization with a heart attack

Supervisors: Dr Chris Gale and Dr Paul Baxter

Heart attacks are the biggest killer in the Western world. As a 
successful applicant you will have access to one of the world’s largest 
heart attack registries (the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit 
Project, MINAP) and also prospective data from a national study of heart 
attack care (the Evaluation of the Methods and management of Acute 
Coronary Events (EMMACE)-3). MINAP has a superb track record in 
delivering research and influencing NHS policy in England. See more here:

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/medhealth/grad/prospective/Impactofpatientlifestyle-ChrisGale.docx

Please contact Dr Paul Baxter for an informal discussion before 
submitting your application (Email: [log in to unmask])

The influence of early life nutrition on chronic disease risk in 
adulthood: a prospective cohort study from the Philippines.

Supervisors: Dr Darren L Dahly, Dr George Ellison, Prof Mark S Gilthorpe

Child malnutrition in lower income countries remains a critical public 
health challenge. While early-life nutrition is clearly important for 
short-term outcomes, it is also hypothesised to influence risk for 
various chronic diseases into adulthood. Research on the lifelong 
impacts of early nutrition has become a particularly important research 
area in countries now facing a dual-burden of infectious and 
non-communicable diseases driven by rapid economic, demographic, and 
epidemiological transitions.

This project aims to better understand the relationship between 
early-life dietary patterns and infant growth, and how these relate to 
obesity and other CVD/diabetes risk factors in young adulthood. Data are 
from Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Study, an ongoing birth 
cohort study in the Philippines. The student’s training and research 
project will focus on the novel combination two advanced statistical 
methodologies: latent class analysis, and functional data analysis. See 
more here:

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/medhealth/grad/prospective/Influenceofearlylifenutritiononchronicdisease-DarrenDahly.docx

Please contact Dr Darren Dahly for an informal discussion before 
submitting your application (Email: [log in to unmask])

Population mixing and the infectious aetiology of ‘non-communicable’ 
diseases

Supervisors: Dr Graham Law, Dr Sarah Fleming, and Dr George Ellison

Infectious agents have been implicated in the aetiology of a growing 
number of ‘non-communicable’ diseases, including type 1 diabetes, 
ischaemic heart diseaseand various types of cancer. This project 
involves developing new ways of measuring exposure to infection arising 
from population mixing and parental allopatry (differential place of 
birth) to test whether these are associated with a range of 
‘non-communicable’ diseases. The project will benefit from ongoing 
collaboration with colleagues at the University of St Andrews and 
extensive access to local, regional and national datasets maintained by 
the LIGHT Data Management Group. See more:

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/medhealth/grad/prospective/Infection_cancerandpopulationmixing-SarahFleming.docx

Please contact Dr Graham Law for an informal discussion before 
submitting your application (Email: [log in to unmask])

Cardiovascular disease in later life following exposure to the 1944-45 
Channel Islands siege: a retrospective natural experiment

Supervisors: Dr George Ellison, Dr Yu Kang Tu, and Prof Mark Gilthorpe

This project offers a rare opportunity to test the developmental origins 
of health and disease hypothesis using a retrospective cohort exposed to 
a natural experiment – an acute period of undernutrition during the 
1944-45 Channel Islands siege. Previous research by the supervisory team 
has established that Channel islanders exposed to the siege as children 
or adolescents display an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in 
later life. Further data are now available to extend this research to 
Channel islanders exposed in utero and during infancy, using an 
innovative approach to age-period-cohort analysis developed by the 
supervisory team. See more here:

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/medhealth/grad/prospective/Cardiovasculardiseaseinlaterlife-GeorgeEllison.docx

Please contact Dr George Ellision for an informal discussion before 
submitting your application (Email: [log in to unmask])

-- 
Dr Paul D Baxter BSc PhD CStat,
Senior Lecturer in Biostatistics,
Division of Biostatistics, LIGHT,
Centre for Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Leeds,
8.001h, Worsley Building, Clarendon Way, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
Web: http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~stapdb
Tel: +44 113 343 9078  Fax: +44 113 343 4877

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