LISS DTP CASE PhD Studentship

Eligibility criteria

Candidates would normally be expected to hold, or achieve by the start of the programme, an appropriate Master's degree in addition to a Bachelor's degree with a UK First- or Upper Second-Class honours grade or overseas qualifications of equivalent standard in a relevant quantitative public health/science/social science subject and have strong statistical skills.

Candidates are required to meet English language requirements (Higher level) unless exempt.

The LISS DTP studentship provides funding for 3.5 years, including UKRI home tuition fees, and a tax-free stipend of £21,237 per year. As part of your award, you will be able to apply to the DTP for additional funding to support costs of training, fieldwork, conferences and more. Students must undertake a 3 month placement with one of the project's partner organisations, and must submit their thesis, within their funded 3.5 year period. Applicants from overseas will be considered if they are able to cover the studentship costs however, the LISS DTP will only award a limited number of International CASE studentship awards in the overall 2025 entry round.

Application process

The following documents should be completed and provided by email to mohncentre@imperial.ac.uk quoting 'LISS DTP application -Young adult employment trajectories' in the subject line.

Completed Young Adult Employment Trajectories LISS DTP PhD Application Form

Completed CASE Application Form 2025

Up to date CV (max 2 pages. If you have scientific publications, include with URL links)

English testing results, i.e. IELTS or TOFEL (if not exempt).

Undergraduate and Master's degree transcripts with average grades.

The following online form must also be completed:

6. Diversity Monitoring Form

All documents can be found on the Mohn Centre website: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/a-z-research/mohn-centre-child-health/work-with-us-/phd-employment-trajectories/#d.en.1602411

Additional information

Incomplete applications (incomplete forms/missing documents) will not be considered. There is some duplication of information between this form and the 'CASE Application Form_2025 Entry', but you must complete both forms in full as they are required by separate organisations. Please do not cross-reference between these forms e.g. 'see information given on other form'.

For specific questions about the project, please contact e.winpenny@imperial.ac.uk.

The Mohn Centre for Children's Health and Wellbeing is committed to equality of opportunity.

We invite applications for a 3.5-year LISS DTP CASE PhD Studentship opportunity in the Mohn Centre for Children's Health & Wellbeing.

"What is driving the rapid rise in poor health and economic inactivity among young adults? A study of transitions into employment"

This PhD project will focus on the important developmental period of early adulthood, to understand the links between employment, health behaviours and health as people start their first job. The research will explore the different employment trajectories followed by young adults, based on employment participation and quality and type of employment. The student will investigate the factors (such as social background and health) which influence the different employment trajectories that people follow, as well as the links between different employment experiences and short and long-term health and employment outcomes.

This project is supervised by Dr Eleanor Winpenny, Lecturer in Early Life Epidemiology (Imperial College), Dr Adam Martin, Associate Professor in Health Economics (University of Leeds) and Professor Marjo-Riitta Jarvelin, Professor of Lifecourse Epidemiology (Imperial College London).

Early adulthood (defined as ages 16-30, to cover transitions from school into employment) is a crucial period of development when individuals establish their social position, social networks, as well as adult lifestyles and health habits. Starting employment often brings changes in social environment and lifestyle, which will influence determinants of physical and mental health, including sleep and exercise patterns. Young adults are known to experience a high rate of 'low quality work' which can mean low pay, low job satisfaction, and poor job security, which may constrain healthy lifestyles and is linked to negative health outcomes. Meanwhile, establishing healthy habits during this period could have long-term consequences for health, and in the shorter-term, could help people find and maintain good quality employment that helps them establish their long-term career potential.

There is considerable concern in policy circles about the number of young adults not working due to ill health. The number of young people aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training has continued rising since the Covid-19 pandemic, and is now 12.2% of all young people. This project has been developed in collaboration with DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Unit, to allow knowledge exchange between research and policy partners throughout the PhD project. The project will incorporate a 3-month placement at JWHU offices (e.g. in Westminster) offering the opportunity to build closer relationships with a range of JWHU colleagues, and access training, networking opportunities, and wider engagement.

The project will use the latest data from The UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), the largest dataset of its kind in the UK, enabling us to follow 5000 young adults aged 16-30y. This dataset provides information covering job characteristics, health behaviours, and self-reported health over time. New biomedical data, to be released in early 2027, will allow analysis of health outcomes, while linked participant data will allow analysis of employment outcomes. The project will use advanced longitudinal analysis methods, within a causal inference framework, and would suit someone with a background in epidemiology or econometrics, and an enthusiasm to develop their skills further in advanced quantitative modelling.

Close collaboration between the student, academic supervisors and the Department for Work and Pensions / Department of Health and Social Care Joint Work and Health Unit will ensure that findings are relevant, useful, and communicated appropriately for use in policy recommendations and policy making. Dissemination of findings through academic conferences, preprints and publications will enable early sharing of findings within the academic community.

Contact

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