PhD Studentship

Post Status: 4 years fully funded PhD Studentship 

Research Group / Department / School: Trinity Business School Dublin (50%) School of Creative Arts (50%) 

Location: Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland 

Reports to: Prof. Nicholas Johnson, Prof. Ronika Chakrabarti

Salary: €25000 - annual stipend 

Hours of Work: 39 hours per week, 4 years 

Closing Date: As post filled, before post starts September 2025

Post Summary 

A fully funded PhD studentship 

Trinity Research Doctoral Award (TRDA) Project: “Entangled Lewy – Disentangling the Lived Experience in Lewy Body Dementias” 

Trinity College Dublin invites applications for a four-year PhD position embedded in the cross-disciplinary TRDA project Entangled Lewy. The project brings together Health Sciences, Creative Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Business, Engineering, Computer Science and Health Economics, to develop next-generation analytic tools that will illuminate the lived experience and care pathways of people with Lewy Body dementia (LBD). Each studentship is fully funded (stipend €25,000 p.a. + EU/International fees) and offers close mentorship, access to real-world qualitative insights, experiences, and a bespoke doctoral training programme. 

By way of background the Lewy body dementias (LBD), account for >20% of all people with dementia (at least 1,600,000 in Europe), are significantly under-recognised or mis-diagnosed, with < 5% receiving a formal diagnosis. In most regions, services for LBD are limited, even though the impact on health services, quality of life and prognosis is significantly greater than with Alzheimer’s disease, a more common form of dementia. To reduce this negative impact and improve outcomes for people across Europe affected by LBD, particularly from a gender and minority community perspective, Horizon Lewy (HL)’s aim is to deliver develop a sustainable learning, practice and support community for LBD through and for effectiveness research. 

The PhD student in post will be supervised with equal supervision between supervisors from Trinity Business School and the School of Creative Arts spread over the four years. In addition to meeting appropriate school-level PhD structured requirements, they will be working together with a multidisciplinary team of PIs and PhD students from Trinity College Dublin to understand the lived experience of Lewy Body Dementia. This PhD will focus on applied theatre, drama studies and critical ethnography to create a dynamic platform for individuals with LBD to share and explore the nuanced experience of living with the disease.

Person Specification 

The PhD Studentship would be ideally suited to someone who is highly motivated, creative, curious, and considering a future in academic or industry research. The successful PhD applicants will be expected to be both proactive in managing their responsibilities and work well as part of the cross-disciplinary team. As the successful PhD applicants will be working with clinical groups, excellent interpersonal and communication skills are essential. 

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in any field related to the TRDA project’s domains, especially in creative arts, social sciences, or health sciences, showing a strong academic track record (Essential). 

• A master’s degree or equivalent practical experience in creative arts, social sciences, or health sciences (Desirable).