Introduction: Swansea University’s College of Human and Health Sciences invites applications for a fully-funded PhD studentship in Psychology: Characterising Subjective- and Mild-Cognitive Impairment: A Multidisciplinary Approach 

About the project: The objective of this studentship is to characterise subjective- and mild- cognitive impairment compared to cognitively healthy ageing in community dwelling older adults. A multidisciplinary research approach will be used in a way that will have high translational value for clinical application. The studentship is funded through a University scholarship in the College of Human and Health Sciences.

Although the cardinal feature of Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment is amnestic dysfunction research continues to reveal a much wider range of significant abnormalities in these disorders compared to cognitively healthy ageing.  In this PhD studentship we aim to improve our characterisation of subjective cognitive impairment; a disorder, like mild cognitive impairment, with an increased risk of developing dementia, but about which relatively little is known. Increasing our understanding of the functional integrity of many aspects of brain processing in subjective and mild cognitive impairment will facilitate our understanding of the how these disorders can affect everyday life, the development of intervention strategies to prevent further cognitive decline, their relationship to cognitively healthy ageing, mild cognitive impairment and dementia and the search for early dementia markers.

The project, which is based in the Department of Psychology, will involve behavioural (neuropsychological testing) and computer-based test of numerous brain functions, using a wide range of neuropsychological and computer-based tests, with particular emphasis on vision, visual attention-related function, reaction time and intra-individual variability. There may also be the possibility of including multi-method neuroimaging experiments. The successful applicant will join a vibrant, productive group of researchers and PhD students in the Department and within wider research and clinical settings. This is an excellent opportunity for an enthusiastic and self-motivated individual to make a substantial contribution to the behavioural neuroscience literature. 

Candidate eligibility: The ideal candidate will have strong written and spoken communication skills, an excellent undergraduate degree (2:1 minimum) and/or an MSc in a relevant discipline (e.g., psychology, neuroscience), experience in working with older adults and individuals with dementia or associated disorders, and experience collecting and analysing a wide range of data.

Due to funding restrictions this studentship is only available to UK/EU applicants. 

Studentship value: Annual stipend: (currently) £13,726. The scholarship will cover UK/EU fees for a maximum of 3 years subject to satisfactory progress. 

Further information:  For further information about this studentship please contact Maria Davis

Email: a.m.davis@swansea.ac.uk 
Tel: +44 (0)1792 295309

Application closing date:  The application closing date is Thursday 15^th August 2013.