PhD Studentship - A prospective observational study to investigate the relationship between the structure of the eye and clinical measurements for glaucoma and anterior eye diseases

Life and Health Sciences - Studentships

Location:  Aston University Main Campus
Basis:  Full Time
Closing Date:  23.59 hours BST on Tuesday 30 April 2019    

Fully-Funded PhD Studentship

Main Supervisor: Professor Sunil Shah; Associate Supervisor: Dr Shehzad Naroo

Background: Glaucoma is the second highest cause of blindness worldwide after cataracts and the mainstay of diagnosis remains to be intraocular pressure based on a device that is over 50 years old. Various novel devices like the Ocular Response Analyser, the Corvis and new anterior segment imaging capability with devices like anterior segment Ocular Coherence Topography are now enabling us to assess the biomechanics of the eye in more detail and potentially will help the management of both corneal diseases and various types of glaucoma.

Activities: The first phase will involve work with patients and ophthalmologists at the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre to assess ocular structure and biomechanics of eyes with a variety of ocular diseases and compare to a group of normal eyes. The second phase will be to correlate these findings with longitudinal disease progression in patients. A third phase will potentially look at the application of these findings using artificial intelligence. The aim is to identify criteria that impact disease and disease progression and to use AI to help improve patient care. 

Aston University was ranked 5th out of 94 UK Higher Education Institutions for research in Allied Health Professions (REF 2014) and was ranked 1st for research environment. Additional information about research in the School can be found at http://www.aston.ac.uk/lhs/research/. Informal enquiries can be made to Prof Sunil Shah at: s.shah26@aston.ac.uk or Dr Shehzad Naroo at s.a.naroo@aston.ac.uk. The successful applicant will be based in the Department of Optometry at Aston University and the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre.

Financial Support:

The studentship is open to Home/EU students only and comprises of a tax-free stipend at the 2018/19 RCUK rate of £14,777 per annum and payment of Home/EU tuition fees only. The studentship is available for three years, subject to satisfactory progress review at the end of the first year, with an anticipated registration of July 2019.

Application Requirements: 

Eligible Applicants should hold at least a Bachelor (Hons.) Degree of either 1st Class/ 2.1 or MSc/MRes in a relevant subject.

EU Applicants will need to demonstrate adequate proficiency in English Language skills, with a minimum overall score of 93 (Internet Based) (with a minimum score in each section of: R: 18, W: 23, L: 19 and S: 19) in TOEFL or IELTS with minimum marks of 6.0 in each section and an overall band of 6.5.

To apply, please complete the on-line application form at:

http://www1.aston.ac.uk/lhs/research/postgraduate-research/apply/ , choosing Research Full-time Health Sciences – July 2019. Please quote Reference: ‘PhD_July 2019_Shah or Naroo on your application.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact HR via recruitment@aston.ac.ukFurther particulars and application forms are available in alternative formats on request i.e. large print, Braille, tape or CD Rom.