Website University of Cambridge
Closing date: 8th December
A competition-funded PhD at the University of Cambridge, using blood and CSF biomarkers to map inflammation in frontotemporal dementia and related conditions, and to test whether it predicts how quickly people progress. Open to UK and international applicants. See more funded PhDs.
Neuroinflammation is an important driver of neurodegenerative disease and of faster clinical decline in people with dementia. Based in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences and supervised by Dr Maura Malpetti, the wider research programme combines advanced blood-based biomarkers with neuroimaging and clinical data to measure and characterise neuroinflammation and pathological change in frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Together, these tools give complementary information on microglia-driven inflammatory cascades.
What the project will do
The project will characterise inflammation signatures in the blood and CSF of people with frontotemporal dementia and related conditions. It will test:
- Data-driven inflammation profiles that separate patients from controls and track clinical severity
- How those profiles relate to clinical phenotypes and to diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds
- Whether they predict differences in clinical outcomes and disease progression
You’ll work with local datasets and multi-centre proteomics data, validating findings across cohorts and platforms.
Funding
This is a competition-funded project for entry in October 2027. To be considered for Cambridge funding, including the Cambridge Trust and Gates Cambridge, you must apply by the funding deadline and list all the funding you are eligible for in your application. US applicants for Gates Cambridge (round 1) must apply by 14 October 2026. The main funding deadline, including Gates Cambridge round 2, is 8 December 2026. Applications made after these dates are not eligible for the Cambridge funding competition, and there is no funding for Lent or Easter 2027 starts.
How to apply
Apply through the University of Cambridge online portal, either for the PhD or the Research MPhil, naming Dr Malpetti as your proposed supervisor. You’re encouraged to contact her first to talk the project through. If you don’t hear back, still include her name, as your application will go to her and the committee for review.
To apply for this job please visit www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk.
