ARC NENC PhD Creating tailored retinal screening pathways for people with diabetes

Institution and location

University of Sunderland, Sunderland

Award summary

100% of home tuition fees paid, annual stipend of £21,805 and additional funding given to cover research costs of £15,000. This studentship is only available to those eligible for UK home tuition fees.

Overview

Diabetic retinopathy is a potential complication of diabetes that can lead to sight loss if untreated. The NHS Diabetes Eye Screening Programme supports early detection and treatment, but the programme is evolving through optical coherence tomography, digital surveillance and emerging approaches such as non-mydriatic imaging. Changes in diabetes treatments may also affect retinopathy risk.

Uptake of diabetic eye screening varies substantially. This PhD will explore how screening pathways could be tailored to patient groups or individuals to provide a more patient-centred service, improve uptake and support timely detection of retinopathy.

The successful candidate will use mixed methods and implementation science to:

• Examine current diabetic eye-screening pathways and influences on screening engagement, using a structured framework such as the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research
• Engage patients, carers, healthcare professionals and service leaders across ophthalmology, eye screening, primary care and specialist diabetes services
• Combine qualitative enquiry, case-study methods, pathway mapping and analysis of routinely collected healthcare data
• Work with stakeholders to co-design potential tailored screening models
• Develop evidence-informed recommendations for policy, practice and future implementation within the NHS

The student will be embedded within a multidisciplinary research environment spanning academia, the NHS, and regional health and care partners, with access to NORI’s developing ophthalmic research infrastructure and both the ARC and NORI’s expertise in implementation science, digital health, population health, and healthcare innovation.

Public involvement, co-production, research inclusion, knowledge mobilisation, and impact planning will be integral to all stages of the project. The successful candidate will work closely with interest-holders to ensure that the research generates actionable evidence capable of informing the future design and delivery of retinal screening.

Number of awards

One

Start date

February 2027

Award duration

3.5 years, full time

Application closing date

To be confirmed

Sponsors

NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria and the Northern Ophthalmic Research and Innovation Institute

Name of supervisors

Professor Matthew Campbell

Gemma Donovan

Eligibility criteria

Applicants should have, or expect to obtain, a first-class or upper second-class honours degree, or equivalent, in a relevant health, social or behavioural science subject. Those with an upper second-class degree should also have a master's degree or relevant professional experience. Experience of qualitative or mixed-methods research and implementation science, would be advantageous. Applicants whose first language is not English will normally need an IELTS overall score of 6.5, with at least 6.0 in each component.

How to apply

Applications should include a full academic CV, two academic or professional references, degree certificates and transcripts, and a supporting statement of no more than two pages. The statement should explain your motivation for joining NORI and how your research experience, techniques and skills make you a strong candidate. 

Applications should be emailed to NORI@sunderland.ac.uk, with the full project title in the subject line.

Contact details

Informal enquiries about the research or NORI prior to application are encouraged and can be directed to NORI Director Professor Matthew Campbell via NORI@sunderland.ac.uk

Additional information

We will be offering a pre-application support workshop for candidates who wish to apply for one of our PhD studentships.

Thursday 15 October 9.30am until 11am (in person at Darlington University campus, exact location TBC)  Please complete form if interested:- NIHR ARC: NENC PhD Pre-Application Workshop Registration (in-person) – Fill in form

Closing Date: 09 Oct 2026

Team: Research

Next-generation ocular technologies for early disease detection and precision health

Institution and location

University of Sunderland, in collaboration with Durham University and Occuity Ltd

Award summary

This is a three-year, full-time Quinlan PhD Studentship. Funding includes UK home-rate tuition fees, a monthly stipend at the recommended UKRI rate (expected to be £21,805 per year for 2026/27), research training, a laptop, up to £3,000 research activity allowance and internships with academic or industry partners. Home students and EU students with settled or pre-settled status are eligible. Overseas students may apply but must fund the difference between home and overseas fees.

Overview

The eye provides a unique, non-invasive window into blood vessels, neural tissue and metabolic processes. Advances in imaging and optical sensing could extend beyond eye-disease diagnosis to identify biomarkers relevant to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration and healthy ageing. However, many promising technologies remain insufficiently characterised in clinical populations.

This interdisciplinary PhD, delivered through the Northern Ophthalmic Research and Innovation Institute and industry partner Occuity, will evaluate novel ophthalmic technologies that capture previously inaccessible biological information from the eye. . Examples of Occuity’s emerging ophthalmic technologies can be found here https://www.occuity.com/post/occuity-sd1-prototype-demonstrates-ability-to-detect-ages-in-the-eye

The project will investigate how these measurements relate to ocular and systemic health and their potential as biomarkers for disease detection, stratification and monitoring.

The student will have the opportunity to work with data and participants recruited through NHS and population-based studies and may contribute to observational and translational studies involving individuals with, or at risk of, chronic disease. Depending on the interests and expertise of the successful candidate, there will be opportunities to apply advanced analytical approaches, including statistical modelling, image analysis, machine learning, and multimodal biomarker integration.

The project will generate important evidence to support the responsible translation of next-generation ophthalmic technologies into future clinical research and healthcare settings. Ultimately, this work aims to support earlier disease detection, personalised prevention, and improved health outcomes.

The student will join NORI's interdisciplinary environment spanning academia, healthcare and industry, with training in health data science, artificial intelligence and research translation. The project aims to support earlier disease detection, personalised prevention and improved health outcomes.

As a PhD researcher with NORI, you can:

• Undertake interdisciplinary research in health data sciences.
• Collaborate between the Universities of Sunderland and Durham, and Occuity Ltd, and civic and industry partners.
• Be part of a diverse and active cohort working on and learning about health data sciences through research.
• Complete research-in-practice internships with academic, civic, and industrial partners.
• Receive state-of-the-art training in data analysis, artificial intelligence, and research translation.
• Work on, and advocate for, health data science solutions to problems and topics important to you.
• Engage with a global field through exchange opportunities with leading health data science research groups.

The engineering and health sciences are stronger if people from diverse backgrounds and disciplines and with a wide range of interests are involved in developing the field. Whether or not you ‘fit’ existing expectations of who a health scientist is, you can bring new knowledge, perspectives, priorities, causes, and ideas to the field, to apply and inform health data science.

This innovative, interdisciplinary PhD programme is a collaboration between academics from across the Universities of Sunderland and Durham,and Occuity Ltd. Students will be based at the University of Sunderland, the host organisation of NORI, but working in close partnership and collaboration with Durham University and Occuity Ltd.

With an emphasis on research at the forefront of practice, NORI brings diverse specialists with a breadth of expertise that will enable you to develop a thematic lens to health data sciences that is aligned to your unique interests.

Number of awards

One

Start date

March 2027

Award duration

3.5 years, full time

Application closing date

To be confirmed

Sponsors

Northern Ophthalmic Research and Innovation Institute - Quinlan Studentship

Name of supervisors

Professor Matthew Campbell and Professor David Steel, University of Sunderland; Dr Alistair Bounds, Occuity Ltd

Eligibility criteria

All applicants must have or expect to obtain a first-class or higher second-class honours degree, or equivalent, in a relevant STEM subject involving some work with health data analytics.

Applicants with higher second-class honours degree or equivalent, must meet one of the following criteria at the time of application:

• Have or expect to obtain a Master’s degree and have submitted two professional or academic references at the time of application, which should cover your role on a research project.
• Have a minimum of 2 to 5-years full-time, or equivalent, relevant professional work experience and have submitted two professional or academic reference at the time of application, which should cover your role on a research project.

If English is not your first language, you will need a British Council International English Language Testing System (IELTS) overall score of 6.5, with at least 6.0 in each component.

How to apply

Applications should include a full academic CV, two academic or professional references, degree certificates and transcripts, and a supporting statement of no more than two pages. The statement should explain your motivation for joining NORI and how your research experience, techniques and skills make you a strong candidate. Applications should be emailed to NORI@sunderland.ac.uk, with the full project title in the subject line.

Contact details

Informal enquiries about the research or NORI prior to application are encouraged and can be directed to NORI Director Professor Matthew Campbell via NORI@sunderland.ac.uk

Additional information

We will be offering a pre-application support workshop for candidates who wish to apply for one of our PhD studentships.

Thursday 15 October 9.30am until 11am (in person at Darlington University campus, exact location TBC) Please complete form if interested:- NIHR ARC: NENC PhD Pre-Application Workshop Registration (in-person) – Fill in form

Closing Date: 09 Oct 2026

Team: Research

ARC NENC PhD: Prevention Across Conditions - improving cancer screening uptake among ethnic minority adults living with Type 2 diabetes

Institution and location

University of Sunderland, Sunderland

Award summary

100% of home tuition fees paid, annual stipend of £21,805 and additional funding given to cover research costs of £15,000. This studentship is only available to those eligible for UK home tuition fees.

Overview

People living with Type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of multiple long-term conditions, including breast and bowel cancer, making cancer screening particularly important. South Asian, Black African and Black Caribbean communities are also disproportionately affected by Type 2 diabetes and experience inequalities in access to healthcare and preventive services, including lower cancer screening uptake.

This PhD will explore how community-centred and asset-based approaches can improve cancer screening engagement among ethnic minority adults living with Type 2 diabetes. Building on co-designed, peer-led, culturally tailored and faith-based interventions, the project will investigate how these approaches can be adapted within Type 2 diabetes self-management.

The successful candidate will:

• Use qualitative methods to explore barriers and facilitators to cancer screening among ethnic minority adults living with Type 2 diabetes
• Work with community members to adapt the intervention
• Support delivery of the adapted intervention in community settings in North East England
• Explore the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention qualitatively
• Potentially use a pre-post survey to assess changes in knowledge, attitudes, intentions and behaviours and inform future implementation

This cross-ARC PhD will be supported by researchers from the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations North East and North Cumbria and East of England, alongside voluntary, community and faith-based partners.

Number of awards

One

Start date

February 2027

Award duration

3.5 years, full time

Application closing date

To be confirmed

Sponsors

NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria

Name of supervisors

Professor Floor Christie-de Jong

Dr Sarah Sowden

Professor Daksha Trivedi

Eligibility criteria

To qualify for this studentship, you will need at least an upper second-class honours (2:1) bachelors degree, and a masters degree (in a relevant social or health sciences subject) or equivalent professional experience and an interest in/experience in health and social care research. Qualitative or mixed-methods research experience would be advantageous. Applicants whose first language is not English will normally need an IELTS overall score of 6.5, with at least 6.0 in each component.

How to apply

Applications should include a full academic CV, two academic or professional references, degree certificates and transcripts, and a supporting statement of no more than two pages. The statement should explain your motivation for joining NORI and how your research experience, techniques and skills make you a strong candidate. Applications should be emailed to NORI@sunderland.ac.uk, with the full project title in the subject line.

Contact details

For further details about the studentship, please contact: Professor Floor Christie-de Jong floor.christie-dejong@sunderland.ac.uk

Additional information

We will be offering a pre-application support workshop for candidates who wish to apply for one of our PhD studentships.

Thursday 15 October 9.30am until 11am (in person at Darlington University campus, exact location TBC) Please complete form if interested:- NIHR ARC: NENC PhD Pre-Application Workshop Registration (in-person) – Fill in form

Closing Date: 09 Oct 2026

Team: Research