The NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Emergency and Acute Care is currently funding two PhD positions.
If you are passionate about making a difference in healthcare, these projects could be for you.
A Discrete Event Simulation Approach to Acute Care Pathways for Patients with Presumed or Confirmed Sepsis
Sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in acute care, yet its management remains highly variable due to the complexity of clinical decision-making and system-wide constraints. This project will develop a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model to analyse acute care pathways for patients with presumed or confirmed sepsis, identifying key factors that influence patient flow, escalation decisions, and resource utilisation.
The study will begin with process mapping of critical decision points in sepsis management. Using hospital patient-level data, the DES model will be developed to simulate triage, diagnostic delays, antimicrobial initiation, and admission processes, incorporating variability in clinical pathways and resource constraints.
The model will be validated against real-world data and used to run counterfactual scenarios, testing alternative strategies such as adjusted triage thresholds, workforce allocation, and escalation criteria. The findings will provide actionable insights to optimise early recognition, risk stratification, and system-wide response to sepsis.
By improving the understanding of how sepsis care is delivered within complex acute care settings, this research will generate evidence to support better implementation of emerging health technologies and inform policy decisions aimed at improving timely intervention and patient outcomes.
Apply by Friday 21 March 2025: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/hrc-funded-phd-a-discrete-event-simulation-approach-to-acute-care-pathways-for-patients-with-presumed-or-confirmed-sepsis/?p183195
Bridging the Valley of Death with AI: Smart Evidence Synthesis for HealthTech Innovation
Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising how we process and synthesize scientific knowledge, creating unprecedented opportunities to accelerate healthcare innovation. This PhD project offers an exciting opportunity to work alongside international experts, clinicians, health economists, and biostatisticians in developing AI solutions that transform evidence synthesis at scale. Working directly with commercial organisations and healthcare innovators, you’ll apply state-of-the-art machine learning and natural language processing techniques to solve a critical challenge: how to rapidly synthesize evidence that bridges the gap between academic research and real-world implementation.
This PhD project aims to transform how HealthTech SMEs access and utilise evidence during product development by developing AI-assisted rapid evidence synthesis methods. We will create scalable approaches that enable companies to efficiently synthesize both clinical evidence and implementation insights, supporting more informed technology development decisions before significant resource investment.
Apply by Friday 21 March 2025: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/hrc-funded-phd-bridging-the-valley-of-death-with-ai-smart-evidence-synthesis-for-healthtech-innovation/?p183199
These projects are funded by the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Emergency and Acute Care. The studentships cover UK tuition fees and provide a stipend for three years, starting in September 2025.