The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is pleased to invite applications for a 3 year full-time PhD studentship, starting in January 2027, funded by the UK Health Security Agency. Only those applicants who meet all the eligibility criteria outlined below can be considered for this studentship.
The research training environment
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The studentship will be based in the Infectious Tropical Diseases.
General information about the MPhil/PhD programme structure at LSHTM can be found on the Research Degrees and Doctoral College pages. Students will be mentored by supervisors at LSHTM, and can be guided by an Advisory Committee consisting of at least two other experienced researchers who may be external to LSHTM. Students are expected to take part in the academic life of their department and can also be members of Academic Centres. All research seminars and journal clubs are open to PhD students from across LSHTM. Students are able to take up to four Master’s level Study Modules per academic year, subject to approval from their supervisor. The PhD programme also facilitates national and international conference attendance by students.
Support for research students’ future career development is covered through the supervision process, through the Transferable Skills Programme (in the School and the Bloomsbury Postgraduate Skills Network) and the LSHTM’s Careers Service.
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.
Doctoral research project
The Scholarship is available to applicants interested in pursuing a PhD project in arbovirology, with a focus on mosquito-borne orthobunyavirus transmission and vector biology.
The research project will be supervised by one of the following staff:
- Mojca Kristan
- Roger Hewson
Other information on project: This PhD project will investigate whether Tahyna orthobunyavirus (TAHV), a mosquito-borne virus associated with Aedes vexans, can be passed from infected female mosquitoes to their eggs and survive the overwintering period. The student will combine virology and mosquito-vector experimental work, including virus culture and quantification, RT-qPCR, plaque assays where appropriate, mosquito membrane-feeding infection studies, diapause/overwintering models, and assays to assess infection in eggs, larvae, adult tissues and saliva. By defining whether TAHV can persist through vertical transmission and re-emerge in F1 mosquitoes, the project will generate important evidence for arbovirus risk assessment while strengthening capacity for future studies of higher-consequence mosquito-borne viruses.
Financial support
The studentship award covers:
- tuition fees (at the LSHTM Home fee rate);
- a tax-free stipend at the UKRI Studentship rate
Eligibility criteria
All applicants must meet minimum LSHTM entry requirements.
Additional Information
This PhD Studentship award is only available to candidates who meet the eligibility requirements for the Home fee rate. Please see the LSHTM fee assessment policy in particular the ’criteria‘ section, for further details. Further information about fee status assessment can be found on the UKCISA website.
Please note that due to the high volume of enquiries we receive, we will not be able to respond to emails from applicants who do not meet these eligibility criteria.
How to apply
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact their proposed primary supervisor for an informal discussion before applying.
To apply, submit a completed research degree application online using the LSHTM application portal by the scholarship deadline of 23:59 (BST) on 06 August 2026.
Applicants must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria before contacting their proposed primary supervisor. When contacting their proposed supervisor, applicants are encouraged to write a short paragraph about their experience and research interests, including ideas for the PhD and explaining how these match the proposed supervisor’s expertise, and to provide a short CV.
Proposed primary supervisors may be able to comment on one draft proposal, or offer other suggestions to strengthen the application: applicants are therefore encouraged to get in touch at an early stage.
Applicants must only contact one proposed supervisor.
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 (the research proposal should identify a specific research question or hypothesis, expanding on one of the topics listed on the website, 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
- A personal statement outlining why you are interested in, and suited to, undertaking a PhD in this area at LSHTM; and
- References.
In addition, applicants for this scholarship must upload the following documents:
- A writing sample (this may consist of your dissertation, an essay, a blog post or other piece of long-form writing and should be around 5,000-10,000 words long).
Applicants must indicate that they wish to apply for this funding by writing ‘UK-HSA Scholarship’ in the free text box in the ‘Funding’ section of the admissions portal.
Incomplete applications will not be considered for this studentship. This includes any applications missing supporting/supplementary documents (eg transcripts or references) at the deadline. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete and therefore applications should be submitted as early as possible to give referees time to submit their references prior to the deadline.
By submitting an application for this funding applicants agree to its Terms & Conditions.
Applicants short-listed for funding will be invited for interview. Interviews will likely be held remotely (via Teams or Zoom).
The successful applicant will be notified of the outcome by the week beginning 30 September 2026.
If you have any questions about the research project or funding, please contact Roger Hewson or Mojca Kristan by email.