PhD Opportunities in Pharmacoepidemiology & Ageing Research

About the Project

We are inviting applications from highly motivated candidates for self-funded PhD positions examining the impact of anticholinergic medications on mobility, functional decline, and multimorbidity in ageing populations.

With rapidly ageing societies, understanding how commonly prescribed medicines influence physical function, cognition, and health outcomes is critical. Anticholinergic burden has been associated with falls, frailty, hospitalisation, and mortality — yet its longitudinal impact on mobility trajectories and biological ageing remains insufficiently understood.

This PhD will leverage large-scale, internationally recognised longitudinal datasets including:

• ELSA (English Longitudinal Study of Ageing)
• TILDA (The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing)
• interRAI datasets
• UK Biobank

Core Research Themes

Applicants may focus on one or more of the following themes:

Anticholinergic Medications and Mobility Decline

• Longitudinal modelling of gait speed, grip strength, balance, and frailty progression
• Time-to-event modelling of mobility disability
• Medication burden trajectories and functional outcomes
• Sex- and age-specific effects

Anticholinergic Burden and Multimorbidity Clusters

• Identification of biomarker and disease clusters
• Machine learning–derived medication burden scores
• Interaction between inflammation markers and medication exposure

Medication Use and Biological Ageing

• Inflammatory biomarkers (CRP, IL-6, etc)

Drug Safety & Functional Outcomes in Real-World Data

• Comparative safety analyses
• Cross-country comparisons (UK, NZ, international datasets)

Methodological Approaches

Candidates will gain knowledge of analytical techniques, including:

• Longitudinal mixed-effects modelling
• Cox proportional hazards modelling
• Competing risk models
• Propensity score methods
• Machine learning (elastic net, random forests, neural networks)
• Cluster and network analyses
• Causal inference frameworks

Strong emphasis will be placed on reproducible research using R and/or Python.

Candidate Profile

We welcome applicants with:

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Pharmacy, Epidemiology, Public Health, Statistics, Medicine, Data Science, or related discipline
• Strong quantitative skills
• Experience in R, Python, or Stata
• Interest in ageing research, medication safety, and multimorbidity
• Motivation to publish in high-impact journals

What We Offer

• Access to world-leading longitudinal ageing datasets
• Supervision within an established pharmacoepidemiology research group
• Training in advanced statistical and AI methods
• Opportunities for international collaboration
• Conference presentation opportunities
• Support for academic career development

Impact

This research directly informs:

• Safer prescribing in older adults
• Deprescribing guidelines
• Clinical decision support systems
• Policy recommendations for ageing populations

Graduates will be well-positioned for careers in academia, regulatory science, clinical research, or data science.

Funding

Positions may be:

• Self-funded
• Sponsored candidates (international applicants welcome)

Applicants are also encouraged to apply for competitive scholarships.