PhD Studentship: Severe mental illness, inflammation and cardiometabolic health

Overview

This PhD project at the University of Exeter, hosted in Clinical and Biomedical Science, combines big data and genetics to study the links between severe mental illness, inflammation, and obesity and other adverse metabolic health outcomes. People with severe mental illness are more likely to have metabolic health problems, and the reasons are not understood. Early results from the supervisory team suggest inflammation may be a key factor.

The student will test this idea in more detail with novel genetic epidemiological techniques in large global biobanks. Training takes place in three world-leading centres and builds skills in immunology, statistics and genetic epidemiology.

What you get

The project is one of up to 18 MRC-funded studentships offered through the GW4 BioMed3 Doctoral Landscape Programme, with a start date of October 2027. The studentships last four years. Funding covers UK tuition fees and a doctoral stipend matching the UK Research Council national minimum, which is 21,805 pounds per year for 2026/27 and is updated annually. Up to 5,000 pounds per year is also available for research training and support costs.

Who can apply

The studentships are open to UK and international students. This project competes for a place with projects across the whole MRC GW4 BioMed3 Doctoral Landscape Award, in which 18 studentships are available across the partnership.

Key dates

The closing date is 21 October 2026, and the studentship begins in October 2027.