PhD Studentship: Prevention of concussion in youth sport

HealthTech Research Centre on Brain Injury: Prevention theme - UWE PhD

This is a funded full-time PhD in the College of Health, Science and Society, UWE Bristol.

Studentship start date: Wednesday 1 October 2025

Studentship details

Introduction

The project will be funded through the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Injury (HRC) Fellowship Programme, which has been designed to support research needs across its 5 themes: prevention & education, acute care & monitoring, restoration & rehabilitation, diagnostics and life-course. This PhD will contribute to the Prevention Theme of the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre on Brain Injury.

Many sports expose participants to an increased risk of head impacts, mild traumatic brain injury and concussion. Research shows that whilst most players recover fully, some experience persisting post-concussion symptoms. For children and adolescents, persisting symptoms can have significant impacts on their home life, education, and social interactions. Repeated traumatic brain injury is associated with a greater risk of poor health in the long term.

Project details

The PhD will address one of the following priority areas:

1. Investigating the effect of sports-related concussion / mild TBI in children and adolescents in the context of developmental trajectories and understanding how differences in age affect short- and long-term effects of head impact exposure.
2. Understanding the factors within individuals that modify long term outcomes after head impact exposure, including age, sex, ethnicity, fitness etc.
3. Evaluating the impact of guidelines and protocols to prevent concussion or persisting post-concussion symptoms at different levels of individual sports.
4. Evaluating strategies for prevention and assessing their impact in reducing the number of clinically relevant head impacts in sport.

Applicants may use a range of research methods to address their chosen priority.

Funding details

The studentship is for three years, subject to satisfactory progress and includes a tax-exempt stipend, currently £19,237 (2024/2025) per annum, and full-time tuition fees at home/domestic rates. International students will be considered if they can demonstrate at the time of application how they will fund the difference between domestic and international fee rates. Public involvement and dissemination costs are included, with additional research costs considered on a case-by-case basis.

Eligibility

• A minimum of a 2:1 first degree in a relevant discipline / subject area with a minimum 60% mark in in the project element or equivalent, and a minimum 60% overall module average
• The potential to engage fully in the PhD and complete within 3 years
• For applicants who do not have English as their first language, a recognised English Language qualification is required.

How to apply

For an informal discussion please email Professor Julie Mytton (Julie.Mytton@uwe.ac.uk)

Please submit your application online, by clicking the 'Apply' button, above, using application number 2526-OCT-CHSS02.

You will need to upload a 2000-word research proposal, a covering letter, copies of your degree certificates and details of two referees.

Closing date

5pm on 1 June 2025

Further information

See full studentship details on the UWE website.

It is expected that interviews will take place at the beginning of July 2025.

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