Develop a diagnostic tool to identify children at higher risk of post-burn illness following a burn

Applicants are invited for a PhD studentship, funded by the Scar Free Foundation, based at the Children’s Burns Research Centre in Bristol (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/childrens-burns). The Centre is led by the University of Bristol (UoB) in partnership with the Universities of the West of England (UWE), Cardiff and Bath, and University Hospitals Bristol NHS Trust.

The PhD stipend will be paid at the RCUK non-clinical rate, and PhD fees at the UK/EU rate are included. Suitable honorary research contracts will be negotiated with University Hospitals Bristol NHS Trust for the successful candidate

The aim of the PhD project is to develop a diagnostic tool to identify children at higher risk of post-burn illness following a burn, to improve early identification and treatment of complications. This research will build upon evidence obtained from the large prospective study- the MISTIC study- which followed up children under 5 years admitted with small burns and scalds and identified characteristic features of the inflammatory response following small burns.The next phase is to derive a set of criteria to identify children at higher risk of post-burn illness, and to test these criteria against re-admission following burn injury in a multi-site prospective study.

The PhD supervisors are Prof Alan Emond, Centre Director and Professor of Child Health at the School of Social and Community Medicine, and Dr Amber Young, clinical lead at the Children’s Burns Research Centre. Potential candidates are encouraged to contact the supervisors for information and advice.

The project will provide training in all aspects of the research process, including designing, obtaining permissions and running a prospective study. Excellent methodological training is provided by the Short Course programme at the School of Social and Community Medicine (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/school-community-medicine).

For further information about the project, contact [email protected].

For information about University of Bristol postgraduate programmes and how to apply,seehttp://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/apply

Candidate requirements:

You will need:

• A covering letter stating that you are applying for the Scar Free Foundation Children’s Burns studentship with the SSCM, and a personal statement (250 words max) summarizing why you are applying and highlights from your CV.
• An academic CV, including full details of university course grades, research experience, publications and conference presentations and employment.
• A copy of your degree certificates and transcripts.
• A copy of English Language training certificates (e.g. IELTS) for candidates who aren't native English language users and who don't have a degree from a British University.
• A 1 page research proposal for the PhD project.
• Names and full contact details of 2 referees.

How to apply: Please make an online application for this project at http://www.bris.ac.uk/pg-howtoapply. Please select on the Programme Choice page and enter details (Scar Free Foundation Children’s Burns ) of the studentship when prompted in the Funding and Research Details sections of the form.