We invite applications for a three-year PhD studentship as part of a longitudinal study of cognitive and brain ageing. This work will form an integral part of the Disconnected Mind project, directed by Professor Ian Deary, which aims to identify factors that affect how well or poorly people’s cognitive functions and brain structure change as they age. The project is based on the study of healthy older people, mostly from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (LBC1936). It includes work on a range of possible contributors to cognitive ageing differences, i.e. demographic, psychosocial, lifestyle, biomedical, genetic, epigenetic, and brain imaging. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a successful multidisciplinary team, and on one of the most comprehensive datasets in the research field. The successful candidate will have a principal and secondary supervisor to support and guide them towards submission of a PhD thesis within three years. Candidates will already have a relevant postgraduate Masters degree (or equivalent), and be proficient in multivariate statistical analyses.
The PhD studentship begins in April 2019 or shortly thereafter. The key focus of the project will be longitudinal analysis of cognitive ageing and/or brain ageing in the participants of LBC1936. Secondary areas of research are not specified, but should be relevant to the general themes of cognitive and/or ageing and based on data available in the LBC1936 study. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the full range of LBC1936 data available for analysis prior to submitting their application. This can be found in:
Cohort Profile Update: The Lothian Birth Cohorts of 1921 and 1936 https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/47/4/1042/4931207
For more information and to apply, click here
