The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK has announced applications for the 2026 NIHR UK Syphilis Research Scholarship.
The NIHR UK Syphilis Research Scholarship is a fully funded opportunity that covers tuition fees, plus a research and travel costs allowance, and a tax-free stipend of £23, 805 per year to pursue PhD degree.
Eligibility Requirements
To be considered for the NIHR UK Syphilis Research Scholarship, you must:
- meet minimum LSHTM entry requirements, and in addition be able to demonstrate the following:
- A Masters degree (or equivalent experience) in a relevant field, such as health economics, public health with an economics focus, or an undergraduate economics degree with a health Masters degree.
- Relevant basic statistical skills and experience with software such as STATA or R
- Evidence of good organisational skills, including effective time management.
- Proven ability to work independently, as well as collaboratively, as part of a research team.
- Demonstrated ability to apply critical thinking to analyse complex problems and propose well‑reasoned solutions.
- Evidence of excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
- Ability to work with community partners and community members affected by syphilis to support the generation and dissemination of research.
Benefits
The studentship award covers:
- tuition fees (at the LSHTM Home fee rate);
- a tax-free stipend at the UKRI Studentship rate (£23, 805 for 2026-27)
- Costs for travel, conference, research activities will be covered by an NIHR Research Professorship awarded to Michael Marks.
- The successful applicant will have unprecedented opportunities to network and establish professional contacts through formal and informal interactions with members of staff at LSHTM and other students.
Skills/methods to be developed during the Studentship
- Experience with costing and health economic analysis
- Experience with mathematical modelling
- Collaboration with qualitative researchers, epidemiologists and modellers
Method of Application
- Click the green button below to go to the LSHTM scholarship webpage.
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the primary supervisor (Michael Marks) for an informal discussion before applying.
- Submit a completed research degree application online using the LSHTM application portal by the scholarship deadline of 23:59 (BST) on 11 May 2026.
- Applicants must ensure all information and standard required documents outlined on the LSHTM ‘before you apply’ page is included/uploaded with the application, including:
- academic transcripts (official transcripts for all completed study; interim transcripts for any ongoing programmes of study);
- a two-page Curriculum Vitae;
- a research proposal of no more than 2 A4 Pages (the research proposal should identify a specific research question or hypothesis, expanding on the topics listed in this advert, summarise the relevant background information (with no more than five key references) and should outline an appropriate research methodology by which the question can be addressed); and
- References.
- a personal statement outlining why you are interested in, and suited to, undertaking a PhD in this area at LSHTM; and
Applicants must indicate that they wish to apply for this funding by writing ‘NIHR UK Syphilis Research Scholarship’ in the ‘Funding’ section of the admissions portal.
