Scholarship overview

  • Degree level

    Postgraduate doctoral

  • Value

    Tax-free stipend of £22,780 per year (UKRI stipend rate), home tuition fees, and research/travel expenses for 3.5 years.

  • Number of awards

    1

  • Academic year

    2026/2027

  • Tuition fee status

    Home

  • Mode of study

    Full time

  • Available to

    Prospective students

  • Application deadline

    18/01/2026

  • Additional information

    Scholarship page

    e.semenova@imperial.ac.uk

  • Available to applicants in the following departments

    • School of Public Health

Eligibility criteria

PhD Title: Environmental and personal determinants of heat-related health risks.

 

PhD Project Description

Extreme heat increasingly threatens population health, but vulnerability to heat-related illness and mortality varies depending on environmental and individual characteristics.

This PhD will investigate how the combined exposome—spanning environmental and individual factors—modifies the health effects of extreme heat. Using UK Biobank data linked with high-resolution exposure maps from the EXPANSE project, the student will examine how features such as green space, air pollution, urban density, and personal health profiles, behaviours, and medical histories shape heat-related risks. Outcomes will include mortality, hospitalisations for cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and mental-health impacts during UKHSA-defined heat periods. Advanced statistical models will quantify how environmental and personal domains jointly drive vulnerability.

Complementary analyses may also explore how household factors such as damp and mould interact with heat exposure, using data from the English Housing Survey and related health datasets.

This work will generate evidence to inform heat-health adaptation and equitable climate resilience. The student will develop expertise in environmental epidemiology, large-scale data analysis, and exposome modelling in collaboration with Imperial College London, UKHSA, and LSHTM.

Applicants must:

  • Be eligible for home fees.
  • Hold, or expect to obtain before the PhD, a relevant Master’s degree awarded with good grades. Relevant degrees should demonstrate an aptitude for mathematics, such as pure maths, economics, epidemiology, or another quantitative subject.
  • Applicants with a combination of qualifications and experience demonstrating equivalent ability and attainment will also be considered.

    The position is based at Imperial’s White City Campus, with on-site presence expected in line with hybrid-working policies.

 

Please note: This scholarship is not available to continuing students.

Course specific information

Available to those applying to the School of Public Health.

Application process

Complete the online application form by 18 January 2026. Interviews expected February 2026. Only complete and eligible applications will be considered. Preferred start date can be discussed at interview. Formal registration follows interview.

Contact

If you have any additional questions, please contact us at e.semenova@imperial.ac.uk.