Allied Health and Life Sciences
College of Health & Life Sciences
School of Allied Health and Life Sciences
PhD Scholarships – Tuition Fee Waiver
The School of Allied Health and Life Sciences is offering 21 PhD Scholarships which cover tuition fees for up to four years (please note: bench fees are still payable by the student, please see the relevant PhD course page for details). Applications are invited from candidates with a strong background in research methods and a keen interest in the relevant research topics.
Who Are We Looking For?
We are looking for excellent candidates who meet the following criteria:
- Open to both UK and international applicants. The programme starts in April 2026.
- The candidate must meet the minimum entry requirements for one of our PhD courses:
- PhD Human Sciences
- PhD Psychology
- PhD Allied Health Professions
- PhD Health Studies
- Previous research experience in bioscience, forensic science, sports science, psychology, public health and allied health, as relevant to the project topic.
- Knowledge of research methods relevant to the research project.
- IT skills: proficiency in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel is essential.
- Communication skills: the candidate should be highly motivated, able to collaborate effectively, and possess strong visual, oral, and written communication skills, with the ability to present research outcomes to commercial, industrial, and academic audiences.
- Teamwork and collaboration: ability to work effectively with academic supervisors, research participants, and other students.
Training & Development Opportunities
Doctoral students at London South Bank University (LSBU), through the London Doctoral College (LDC), benefit from a rich and structured training environment designed to support academic excellence and professional development. All PhD candidates are offered a comprehensive programme of workshops and seminars covering essential research skills, including research design, data analysis, academic writing, ethics, and project management. These sessions aim to support students through every stage of their doctoral journey—from literature review and methodology to thesis completion and viva preparation. Postgraduate researchers can access advanced, discipline-specific training aligned with their research focus. LSBU’s doctoral training environment is designed to build deep expertise in a chosen research area and the broader skills necessary for successful careers in research, industry, and beyond.
The School of Allied Health and Life Sciences has a vibrant research environment!
How to apply:
- Before you begin the application process, make sure you familiarise yourself with the requirements of the application process.
- Please identify a research project of your interest in the table below.
- To apply, please submit a 1,000-word Research Proposal which addresses the Project Description via the official LSBU application platform.
- In addition to the Research Proposal, you will need to submit your CV and additional documents as detailed in the course pages above.
- When you apply, please quote the full reference number of the relevant research project, for example CSP1/AHLS/ PhD Human Sciences – the reference number is available in the first column of the table below.
- Selected candidates will be invited to an online interview.
- Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until all places are filled, so early application is strongly encouraged to secure your spot. International applicants are responsible for their visa costs and CAS insurance.
- If you have questions, about specific projects, please email the indicated supervisors
Reference number | Project title and supervisors | Project description and additional requirements |
CSP1/AHLS/PhD Human Sciences | Adaptational responses of an ankle joint ligament to cyclic strain-based training and relevance to injury prevention and rehabilitation Dr Darren James | Ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries across the general population and particularly in sport. In most sprain cases, the outer side of the ankle is affected usually by a tear in one particular ligament – the anterior-talofibular ligament (ATFL). Expensive diagnostic technologies can diagnose ligament injury and give some indication of the tissue’s health during rehabilitation; however, these fall short in being able to quantify mechanical behaviour (e.g., strain), which is an important consideration for injury prevention and effective rehabilitation. Ongoing PhD research at LSBU has developed a stress-imaging arthrometry method to assess ATFL strain and demonstrated its validity. We have also shown significant strain differences between the healthy and injured ATFL in response to mechanical loading and more recently identified an optimal ankle position which elicits the highest strain during voluntary movement. In total, four manuscripts are expected from this current period of PhD training. A new period of PhD training will extend this work and investigate whether ligament resistance to mechanical loading can be enhanced via training; and if so, what is the threshold for effective exercise-related adaptive changes? Specifically, the proposed PhD program will implement a 12wk training protocol on healthy participants to demonstrate adaptational responses of ATFL. This protocol will be shared with another proposed PhD project (Dr. Epro) as part of a wider research area on soft tissue injury. The project will then collaborate with a private foot and ankle clinic and recruit patients reporting lateral ankle sprain injury. We hope to show that the insidious nature of this injury can be reversed and also identify the extent of the adaptation with respect to time since injury. The over-arching ambition of this research area is to provide the Orthopaedic community with a cost-effective and practical solution to predict and manage ankle sprain injury. |
CSP2/AHLS/PhD Allied Health Professions | National scoping study and gap analysis of Allied Health Professional Clinical Academics, their educational pathways and clinical service demands. Professor Adele Stewart-Lord | Academic (ICA) Bridging Schemes - Internships, Pre-doctoral and Post-doctoral schemes since 2021 and more recently the NIHR INSIGHT South London Programme was awarded in April 2024. There is little evidence that demonstrates the career trajectories of clinical academics and their progression within the NHS. This study will explore these career options for AHPs at national level. Project aim: Identify challenges, expectations and opportunities within the AHP Clinical Academic workforce to meet current and future clinical service need. Objectives: 1. Scope current and future service need in the existing AHP Clinical Academic workforce. 2. Scope current national post registration education, and future education provision requirements |
| CSP5/AHLS/PhD Human Sciences | Understanding the Gender Gap in Thermoregulation during Exercise Dr Freya Bayne | Thermoregulation plays an essential role in our ability to perform exercise and physical activity, yet sex-based differences remain underexplored. Women experience hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle, which may influence thermoregulatory responses, including sweat rate, skin blood flow, thermal discomfort and core temperature regulation. Additionally, health conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, and menopause may further impact thermoregulation and physical activity participation. Despite growing interest in female-specific psychophysiology, much of the existing literature remains male-centric, leading to a gap in evidence-based strategies for optimizing and promoting physical activity in women. Therefore this PhD aims to: (1) Investigate how different menstrual cycle phases affect thermoregulatory responses and exercise tolerance, (2) Examine the influence of conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis on thermoregulation and exercise tolerance, (3) Compare thermoregulatory differences between males and females to quantify the gender gap in heat regulation, (4) Develop evidence-based recommendations to improve physical activity experiences and performance for women in hot environment. |
CSP7/AHLS/PhD Human Sciences |
Investigating the anti-leukemic activities of bioactive peptides and their underlying mechanisms of action. Dr Ruth Gyereh
| Background: Despite advances in cancer treatments, improving long-term survival rates for leukaemia patients and mitigating the side effects of traditional chemotherapy remain significant challenges. This necessitates the search for novel compounds and innovative therapies (Arber et al.,2016). The exploration of therapeutic potential of bioactive peptides (BAPs) as anticancer agents presents a promising avenue that merits further investigation (Christoffersen et al., 2009). BAPs are a promising group of compounds sourced naturally and known to display diverse bioactivities. Aim: Over five novel bioactive peptides, including 2912, QUB-2712, QUB-2392, and QUB-2684, have been isolated from frog skin secretions, though their anticancer effects on leukaemia cell lines remain unexplored. This project aims to investigate the anti-leukemic properties of these novel bioactive peptides and elucidate the mechanisms of action (MOA). Proposed methodology: This will be achieved using molecular techniques including proliferation assays, Western blotting, flow cytometry, proteomics and gene profiling. The initial studies will establish the cytotoxic effects of the novel peptides against different human leukaemia cell lines by cytotoxic screening assays. Further, the study will elucidate the underlying mechanisms of action of the selected peptides. Hypothesis: This study hypothesizes that bioactive peptides will exhibit anticancer activities. Expected outcome: The study explores the anti-leukemic potential of novel bioactive peptides, aiming to advance targeted therapies with improved efficacy and fewer side effects. The findings could enhance treatment options for leukaemia patients and lay the foundation for future preclinical and clinical developments. This study aims to investigate the anti-leukemic properties of these peptides and their underlying mechanisms of action. |
CSP10/AHLS/PhD Health Studies |
An Ethnographic Study of an Organisational response to Serious Youth Violence: Exploring the Micro-Mechanisms of Public Health Approach Implementation
Dr Felicity Morrow
| Serious youth violence (SYV) is an increasing concern in the UK, attracting growing media attention, particularly regarding knife crime. While overall crime rates continue to decline, SYV has been on the rise, with data indicating that both offenders and victims are becoming younger (Youth Endowment Fund, 2025). A public health approach acknowledges that SYV stems from a complex interplay of factors operating across different levels, including societal, community, relationships, and individual influences (Public Health England, 2019; Irwin-Rogers et al., 2020). Furthermore, a public health approach is an established approach to violence reduction which has generated significant and lasting reductions in SYV across cities such as Glasgow, Cardiff and Chicago. Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Team (PHIRST) South Bank has been conducting an evaluation of Lambeth Made Safer which is a ten-year strategy adopting a public health approach to reduce SYV in Lambeth. The preliminary findings indicate a number of evidence gaps, for example, there is limited evidence capturing the delivery of sport programmes in Lambeth, despite their reported high impact in reducing SYV involvement. This proposed doctoral research aims build on the findings of the PHIRST evaluation by focusing in on these evidence gaps. It will also leverage established connections within the local authority and community to potentially facilitate access to a suitable data collection site and support with the development of a PPIE group. This ethnographic research would explore a community-based organisation which works to reduce and prevent SYV. The researcher would be embedded within the organisation, conducting observations, interviews, and artifact analysis in relation to their daily work (Emerson, Fretz & Shaw, 2001). This approach enables a "thick description" (Geertz, 1973, p10) of public health approach implementation mechanisms at a micro level, capturing individual actions within their situated context. Ethnography has been chosen for its ability to go beyond interview accounts, capturing the actual work being done through direct observation. An organisational ethnography will explore the lived experience of those accessing services and the professionals who support them, unpicking what works at this micro level. Given evidence that gender shapes experiences of violence, this PhD could further refine its focus by examining gender-specific interventions. |
CSP11/AHLS/PhD Human Sciences |
Effects of ageing on neuromechanical coupling within mono- and bi-articular skeletal muscles and their adaptability to mechanical loading
Dr Gaspar Epro
| Human locomotion is controlled by a complex system of motors, e.g. muscles that cross either over single or multiple joints via tendons which transmit muscle generated forces to the skeletal system causing movement. The ankle joint, the primary origin of mechanical power and work for human locomotion, is synergistically controlled mainly by mono-articular soleus and bi-articular gastrocnemius muscles. These anatomical differences between these muscles directly affect the conditions for optimal performance based on the force-length relationship and can influence their adaptability to increased mechanical loading (e.g. exercise). Inhomogeneous adaptation within the muscle-tendon unit is primarily caused by the discrepancies in the adaption time course between muscle and tendon, however also imbalance in force production between the synergistic muscles has been suggested as another factor for the development of different pathological conditions. Taking into consideration that ageing is related to various degenerative changes in the neuromuscular system, it could affect also the coupling between activation and force-generating capacity (i.e. neuromechanical coupling). The proposed PhD project aims to investigate the neuromechanical coupling within mono- and bi-articular ankle plantar flexor muscles in young healthy adults, and whether it is disrupted due to ageing. Further, a 12-week resistance exercise will be performed to investigate whether the neuromechanical coupling within the triceps surae muscle is disrupted along the exercise period and hence increase the risk for musculoskeletal injuries. The proposed plantarflexion exercise intervention is closely linked to another proposed PhD project (Dr. Darren James) in the field of ligament tissue adaptation and injury prevention highlighting the interdisciplinary approach of the proposed investigation. The overall aim of the project is to improve our knowledge whether potential disruptions in neuromechanical coupling within the triceps surae play a role in the aetiology of different pathological conditions. |
CSP14/AHLS/PhD Human Sciences |
Muscle-Strengthening - the ‘Forgotten Guideline’: Overcoming Barriers to Resistance Training in Middle-Aged Women
Dr Lisa Zaidell
| Increasing physical activity (PA) levels is a global health priority. PA is vital for healthy ageing, yet women participate less than men, with levels declining at mid-life. Combined with menopause, this increases the risk of non-communicable diseases, sarcopenia, and osteoporosis, making mid-life a critical intervention point. Resistance-training (RT) is known to lead to morpho-functional improvements of the musculoskeletal system to counteract the ill-effects of ageing, even in postmenopausal women. Despite this, only ~12% of middle-aged women engage in RT. Outcomes of RT are directly related to workload (i.e. intensity) however, high-intensity training can reduce adherence in women. Manipulating other training variables (e.g. time-under-tension, rest duration, volume) may optimise adaptations—yet this remains under-explored, with existing RT prescription based on male-focused research. This study aims to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of different RT protocols on health and function in middle-aged women. Aligned with the Stages of Change model, it will explore barriers/preferences for RT, alongside physiological responses, to inform RT prescription and public health policy, supporting increased engagement in women. This research consists of three interrelated studies using literature review, mixed methods, and experimental designs.
This multi-phase approach will provide a comprehensive understanding of RT engagement and effectiveness in middle-aged women. |
CSP20/AHLS/PhD Human Sciences
| Developing targeted therapies for MAF-dependent multiple myeloma dependent Dr Valentina S Caputo Galarce
| Multiple myeloma is a cancer characterized by the malignant transformation of terminally differentiated plasma cells responsible to produce antibodies. About 50% of multiple myeloma patients exhibit chromosomal translocations that enhance the expression of oncogenes. As a result of the t(14:6) translocation, the MAF transcription factor is overexpressed, becoming a myeloma initiating and maintenance event. Our research has shown that the unique relationship between the plasma cell identity-defining transcription factor IRF4 and the oncogenic MAF are fundamental for myeloma progression. Understanding and targeting this t(4:6)-specific protein-protein interaction will allow us to predict and validate targeted therapies. Molecular modelling studies have simulated the interaction between both transcription factors, identifying contact regions and predicting key amino acids involved in them. These studies also suggest potential inhibitors of the protein-protein interaction. The objectives of this project are:
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