Research from around the world has identified that modern children’s lifestyles are promoting an unprecedented rise in short-sight (myopia) across the world. Ulster University’s Northern Ireland Childhood Errors of Refraction (NICER) study has demonstrated that prevalence amongst UK teenagers has more than doubled in the last 50 years and is appearing in children at a younger age than in previous decades. This finding is alarming because myopia is strongly linked with sight-threatening diseases such as glaucoma, cataract and maculopathy and the younger myopia occurs in a child the larger the magnitude of myopia they are likely to develop and the greater the risk of these vision-impairing conditions.
Rising levels of myopia will impose increasing burdens on both the individual and health/social care services in the UK. Accurate and up-to-date information on prevalence and age of onset of myopia is required by service commissioners and workforce planners as they have a bearing on the scale, scope and targeting of future optometric services. Comparison between contemporary UK data and that reported 50 years ago cannot tell us what the trajectory of change in prevalence was over intervening decades or whether the rate of change is moderately stable or accelerating. Neither is it clear whether myopia onset continues to shift to younger ages or which aspects of modern childhood lifestyles are impacting on eye growth and myopic outcomes in the UK. The proposed study aims to answer these questions, further enhancing the scientific, professional and public impact the NICER study has already demonstrated.
Applicants should be optometrists registered with the General Optical Council or able to register with the General Optical Council within six months of commencing the project. Some post-registration experience of both clinical, practice and research data collection would be beneficial. Applicants should have a full driving licence and access to a car.
Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.
We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.
In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.
If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.
The University offers the following levels of support:
The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:
These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.
Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.
Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.
The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).
This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.
Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living
Submission deadline
Monday 19 February 2018
12:00AM
Interview Date
6, 7 and 8 March 2018
Preferred student start date
Mid September 2018
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