Moving to a data informed understanding of cerebrovascular small vessel disease.

Studentship strategic priority area: E-Health Informatics Research
Keywords: Big data, cerebrovascular, phenome wide association study, small vessel disease

The syndrome of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) is arguably one of the most important conditions of our time, contributing to stroke, dementia, and other age-related problems. Despite the importance of cSVD, our understanding of the condition remains limited.
This project will explore the physical, psychological, and other manifestations of cSVD, offering new insights into the disease phenotype that will improve assessment, inform diagnosis and shape future research trials.
The project will work with large data registries including UK Biobank and Dementia Platforms UK. A primary aim will be to complete a phenome wide association study describing the clinical features seen in people with neuroimaging evidence of small vessel disease. Results will be validated in independent cohorts and placed in the context of existing research.
For this PhD, we have designed a program of complementary, interlinked, projects each designed to equip the student with a different research skill and spanning key areas such as neuroimaging, 'big data', evidence synthesis and communication of science. At completion, the student will be equipped with the skills needed to become an independent researcher. The program also provides an opportunity for the student to further develop their knowledge and skills in a particular focused area of their choice, for example neuroimaging or analytics.