Job Description

Applications are invited for a fully-funded 3-year PhD studentship in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr Alexis Joannides starting April 2026 (Easter Term 26).

Background:

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a neurological condition arising from a disturbance in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics, affects 3-4% of adults over 65 years, and leads to progressive gait, cognitive, and bladder impairment. Despite the existence of an effective surgical treatment, less than 20% of patients with the condition are accurately diagnosed and treated. A key barrier to improved management of NPH is poor awareness amongst healthcare professionals.


The reversible dementia (REVERT) project, based in the East of England with EU funding, has established a novel, multidisciplinary approach for diagnosis and treatment of NPH which has been adopted within routine NHS practice. On this background, this project aims to improve the detection and timely diagnosis of NPH at a population level, by evaluate the feasibility of screening individuals presenting with falls who undergo cranial imaging in an acute context for further evaluation for NPH.

Project aims:

Falls have been reported to precede a diagnosis of NPH in 80-90% of cases. Given that a significant proportion of patients presenting with a fall undergo cranial imaging, and a number of imaging hallmarks have been shown to be of diagnostic value in NPH, the project will seek to implement an automated segmentation approach for evaluating CT head imaging performed after a fall for features of hydrocephalus. CT-based volumetric segmentation and falls-based screening have been separately reported in the context of hydrocephalus but not previously combined to enable automated flagging of at-risk individuals for further diagnostic evaluation.


This project is funded through the

NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Injury (HRC) Fellowship Programme

, which has been designed to support the research needs across its 5 themes: prevention & education, acute care & monitoring, restoration & rehabilitation, diagnostics and life-course. Central to the programme are the 7 core academic projects, across 4 academic partners. The HRC rolling educational programme will be delivered through a mixture of tutorials, workshops, web-based training resources, networking events and peer-led activities.

Funding

The studentship will cover fees and stipend for three years at the current UOC rate for Academic year 2025/26, 19,000.00 and Home fees of 10,356.00.


The studentships are available to students who qualify for UK Home fees.


Please check for Home eligibility (https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/fees-and-funding/fees)


and entry requirements (https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/cvcnpdpcn/requirements)


All applications should be made online via the University's Applicant Portal for a PhD in Clinical Neurosciences.

Application deadline: 14th January 2026

Please apply via the application portal here (https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/cvcnpdpcn/apply)


Applications should include academic transcripts, CV, statement of purpose and 2 references. An application is only complete when all supporting documents, including the 2 academic references, are submitted. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure their referees submit their references before the closing date. Please also explain your motivation why you wish to pursue a PhD in this area, outline your research interests and background, and describe the qualities and experience you will bring to the role.


Any queries about the project, please contact Mita Brahmbhatt on mb994@cam.ac.uk


Any questions regarding application processes please contact the Education team on pgneurosci@medschl.cam.ac.uk.


For information about how your personal data is used as an applicant, please see the section on Applicant Data (https://www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/hr-staff/hr-data/applicant-data) on our HR web pages.


Please quote reference ZE47613 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.


The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.


The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Key information

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Department/location

Department of Clinical Neurosciences

Salary

Reference

ZE47613

Category

Studentships

Date published

14 October 2025

Closing date

14 January 2026