Postgraduate Research Scholarships

Birds represent one of the most spectacular adaptive radiations in earth’s history, with over 10,000 extant species spanning a range of ecologies and environments. Despite their relatively small sizes, some birds are capable of generating exceptionally high bite forces that may be several times higher than their own body mass. This project will generate important information about the trade-offs that evolution has to make, both between producing and resisting force, and also while trying to minimise bone mass for flight efficiency.

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Closing date: 22 September 2023

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the second most common cause of death in the UK and therefore a significant disease burden. von Willebrand factor (VWF) plays an important role in the haemostatic system and there is considerable natural variation in VWF levels; levels have been associated with clinical outcomes in single-centre acute coronary syndromes (ACS) patient cohorts, while high levels have also been associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction. In addition, VWF genetic variation independently influences VWF levels. There is therefore a timely opportunity to test whether VWF genetic variation and levels can predict CVD outcomes and inform personalised therapies for patient benefit.

This project aims to investigate the role that natural variation in VWF levels has in determining CVD risk, focusing specifically on clinical outcomes in a large multi-centre ACS patient cohort.

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Closing date: 29 September 2023

Bees are vital for ecosystem stability and global food security – providing pollination services worth hundreds of billions of pounds annually.

We invite applications for a fully-funded, full time PhD studentship to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team (including behavioural biologists and physiologists) on a project funded by UKRI (BBSRC) that is aiming to understand and predict the effects of the thermo-nutritional developmental environment upon the life history of two key UK wild bee species, and the consequent implications for pollination services. The aim of the PhD studentship will be to develop computational models that will form a key part of the overall project, underpinning our predictions of how environmental variables affect the life history of two bee species.

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Closing date: 2 October 2023

This PhD will investigate whether AI can be used to predict intracranial bleeding risk in brain cancer patients on anticoagulants.

The student will explore whether a detailed collection/characterisation of patient demographic data and quantification of tumour characteristics/signatures measured by Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) and Dynamic Contrast Enhanced (DCE) studies, can be used in predictive models. This multi-parametric MRI will simultaneously sample whole tumour measurements of multiple MR parameters in the specific volumes (sites) of interest.

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Closing date: 2 October 2023

This project is at the interface between traditional mathematical modelling and modern machine learning in the context of cancer biology.

This project aims to build a theoretical framework to understand cancer progression in an environment with more than two drugs by combining evolutionary game theory, population dynamics, and agent-based modelling. In the first stage, the student will design pay-off matrices to represent hypothetical relationships between cytotoxic activity and drug resistance. In the second stage, the student will search for evolutionary stable strategies (unchanging clonal compositions) in the corresponding replicator equations.

In the final stage, the student will implement these drug schedules in a graph-structured agent-based model to study the interactions between adaptive therapies, the unique vulnerabilities of small populations, and spatial effects.

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Closing date: 2 October 2023

The University of Hull has a long history of welcoming high quality scholars through the Commonwealth Scholarships PhD and Taught Masters schemes. We have a number of exceptional Commonwealth scholars undertaking ground-breaking research with us currently.

Many also choose to study through the Taught Masters scholarship programme and then return to take up a Commonwealth PhD scholarship.

Learn more about the Commonwealth Scholarships Scheme here.

The NERC Panorama Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) encompasses three broad themes: Atmosphere and Climate, Earth Processes and the Living World. Panorama prepares the next generation of environmental science leaders for industrial, governmental, NGO and academic careers and provides exceptional training across the range of environmental science in world-class research teams through an innovative, exciting and multi-disciplinary programme. The programme will equip students with the skills necessary to understand the complex interactions within the Earth system, so they can contribute to the development of scientific, policy and industrial solutions for the national and global scale problems we face in coming decades.

Applications are currently closed for 2023 entry.

The Hull Centre for Sustainability and Olympic Legacy (HCSOL) is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as an official Olympic Studies and Research Centre. The HCSOL investigates how the Olympics can be more environmentally and socially sustainable, and is exploring how the Olympics can leave a lasting legacy and contribute to a positive future for people, society and the environment.

Find out more about the Hull Centre for Sustainability and Olympic Legacy.

Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships Centre for Water Cultures: Pioneering the green-blue humanities

The University of Hull Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships Centre for Water Cultures is an interdisciplinary research centre exploring humanity’s relationships with water in the green-blue regions of the world, past, present and future.

It pioneers a new, humanities-led, interdisciplinary and transhistorical research area – the green-blue humanities – and equips a new generation of PhD students to take this agenda forward and transform our understanding of humanity's relationships with water.

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We need the brightest minds to join us in developing solutions to the environmental and engineering challenges the offshore wind industry is facing. The UK has committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and clean energy produced by offshore wind will be a cornerstone in reaching this target. Already providing over 10% of the UK’s electricity and growing at an unprecedented rate, by 2030 it is expected to provide over 30% of the UK’s energy needs.

The Aura Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Offshore Wind and the Environment is led by the Energy and Environment Institute at the University of Hull with partners Durham, Newcastle and Sheffield Universities. Working closely with over 20 Industry partners, the Aura CDT invites high-quality applications for 4-year taught and research PhD scholarships. These funded PhD opportunities are for exceptional graduates from a range of STEM backgrounds and could unlock a career in this new and innovative industry.

Applications are currently closed.

For more information about the Aura CDT please visit auracdt.hull.ac.uk. We hope to make updates about further recruitment rounds in the Autumn.