NIHR PhD Studentship: Modernising Campylobacter burden Assessment Using Integrated Genomics, Sy

Award Summary

100% of home fees, minimum tax‑free living allowance of £21,805 per year.

The problem:
Campylobacter remains the leading bacterial cause of gastrointestinal illness in the UK, but its human burden is badly understood. This PhD addresses this gap, integrating multiple high‑value datasets describing metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing information, clinical and epidemiological data, genomic and surveillance data, and selected UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Food Standards Agency (FSA) and other food‑related datasets. These data provide opportunity to quantify true Campylobacter burden, including infection patterns, coinfection effects, and severity within and across different population groups.

Collaborating with FSA and UKHSA, you will help modernise how Campylobacter disease burden is assessed, identify drivers of change and possible interventions. You will explore how genomic diversity relates to clinical outcomes, whether machine‑learning approaches can identify emerging clusters, and how integrated genomic–clinical data can support earlier strain detection. The project may also examine vulnerable groups and their behaviours, pathogen‑specific severity profiles, and how improved burden estimates could inform FSA’s response to rising Campylobacter trends and threshold exceedances.

You’ll develop advanced analytical skills e.g. multivariate, machine learning and Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Microsimulation modelling, generating evidence directly relevant to national food safety policy. You will join a PhD student cohort with NIHR Academy training opportunities. This unique opportunity focusses on the interface of public health, epidemiology and genomics decision‑making, producing insights supporting the UK’s strategic Campylobacter response.

Part of the NIHR HPRU in Gastrointestinal Infections collaboration between UEA, UKHSA, Quadram and Newcastle University, you will interact with the Public and Community Involvement, Engagement and Participation group, with your research directly informing FSA and UKHSA guidelines and policy, helping protect the public from illness.

1

1st October 2026

4 years

28 July 2026

UKHSA

Marie McIntyre / Thea Commandeur / Steve Rushton, Newcastle University

Edward Cunningham‑Oakes, University of Liverpool

Roberto Vivancos, UKHSA

Anthony Wilson, FSA

You must have (or expect) a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a relevant subject (behavioural science/health psychology/public health/epidemiology/social science/sociology/biology/environmental sciences/microbiology/statistics/veterinary or human medicine). Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub‑skills. This studentship is only available to applicants with Home fee status (UK and EU applicants with pre‑settled/settled status, meeting residency criteria).

All applicants should complete the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal:

Once registered, select Create a Postgraduate Application (under the “Course Search” to identify your programme of study, search for the “Course Title” using the programme code 8020F (for example). Select “PhD Biology (full‑time)” (for example) as the programme of study.

You will then need to provide the following information in “Further Details”:

• a Personal Statement (mandatory field) – upload a document or write a statement directly into the application form
• the studentship code SNES
  312 in the “Studentship/Partnership Reference” field
• when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal – select “Write Proposal”. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.

Dr. K. Marie McIntyre  ma