The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Makerere University and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Programme (MLW) are pleased to invite applications for two PhD studentships as part of an NIHR-funded programme of research.
The studentships are available to candidates who hold Ugandan or Malawian nationality, or individuals who have been resident in either country for at least three years prior to application.
The studentships will start in January 2026 and come with 3 years of funding. The awards will cover a tax-free stipend aligned to local rates, full-time tuition fees at LSHTM and research and travel expenses.
Only those who meet all the eligibility criteria outlined below will be considered for the studentships.
These PhD studentships offer an exciting opportunity to contribute to a large collaborative, high impact research programme focused on improving equitable access to diagnosis and monitoring of infectious and non-communicable disease in Malawi and Uganda through examining ‘rational use’ of frontline diagnostics across different disease and country contexts.
The students will be based dually within the Department of Global Health and Development, Faculty of Public Health and Policy at LSHTM, and either at the Center for Social Sciences Research on AIDS (CeSSRA) which is housed in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, School of Social Sciences, Makerere University in Uganda or within the Public Health Research Group at the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Programme in Malawi respectively. The students will be based primarily in Uganda or Malawi with time spent in the UK at LSHTM. The studentships will provide students with opportunities to engage with theory and method in anthropology and broader social science and contribute to the advancement of individual and community strategies for self-care through engagement with self-testing and self-sampling diagnostics.
The research training environment
Students, academics and professionals come to LSHTM from all over the world because of its international presence, collaborative ethos, research excellence and prestigious study programmes in public and global health. General information about the MPhil/PhD programme structure at LSHTM can be found on the Research Degrees and Doctoral College pages.
Makerere University is a 94-year-old institution of higher learning and research and ranked among the top 5 best universities in Africa. The University is also the largest academic institution in Uganda that is leading the way to addressing the numerous health related challenges facing the country. The University is a research-intensive institution which has many international collaborative research projects and programs, driven by a mission to improve wellbeing of Ugandans and the rest of Africa through innovative teaching, research and provision of services responsive to societal needs. The project and student research will be conducted at the Makerere University College of Humanities and Social Sciences (MakCHUSS) which has five schools including the School of Social Sciences that houses the Centre for Social Science Research on AIDS (CeSSRA) which was established in 2007 through US NIH support (R24HD056917).
MLW is an international health research institute based in Blantyre, Malawi and is affiliated to the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS). MLW is a Wellcome Trust major overseas programme led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
Students will be mentored and supervised by a supervisory team composed of three members. Students are expected to take part in the academic life of their department at LSHTM and either, Makerere University or MLW respectively. They will also be expected to play an active role in the NIHR group activities and work closely with the wider NIHR research team. All research seminars and journal clubs at LSHTM, Makerere University and MLW are open to PhD students. Students are able to take up to four Master’s level study modules per academic year, subject to approval by their supervisors. The PhD programme at LSHTM also facilitates national and international conference attendance by students. Support for 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 Career Service. The studentships also come with a flexible training budget to support external training and development opportunities and the students will be encouraged to join the NIHR Academy for further NIHR-led training activities and networking opportunities. The selected candidates will have unprecedented opportunities to network and establish professional contacts through formal and informal interactions with members of staff at LSHTM, Makerere University and MLW and with national and international policy.
Doctoral research projects
- LSHTM Faculty: Public Health and Policy
- LSHTM Department: Global Health and Development
- Supervisor: Professor Nicola Desmond, LSHTM ([email protected])
- Co-supervisor: Dr Wezzie Lora, LSHTM ([email protected])
- Co-supervisor (Uganda): Dr David Kaawa-Mafigiri, Makerere University ([email protected])
- Co-supervisor (Malawi): Dr Augustine Choko, MLW & Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine ([email protected])
Background
Sub-Saharan Africa faces a double disease burden of non-communicable and infectious disease. Earlier diagnosis can lead to improved outcomes but facility-based services cannot meet demand. Decentralised access to diagnostics through self-testing has potential to address global diagnostics gaps, democratise health by addressing structural inequalities and contribute to Universal Health Coverage (UHC). An exponential growth in the public and private direct to consumer self-testing market, predicted to increase to 13.6 billion USD by 2033, is likely to improve access. However, unregulated and uncontrolled access has potential for unintended consequences. As countries move towards the development of national diagnostics strategies as part of national health plans in response to the World Health Assembly resolution in 2023, timely evidence is needed to inform implementation and communication approaches to optimise benefits of frontline diagnostic opportunities in epidemic and outbreak settings. Anthropology is well-positioned to contribute to the call for near-person diagnostics, hence why these studentships will contribute vital evidence to ensure person-centred development of a near-person diagnostics agenda that contributes positively to the promotion of self-care and self-management of health, well-being and disease.
Project objectives
The students will use ethnographic and qualitative research methods to contribute to understanding how the introduction and use of frontline diagnostics for self-testing and monitoring change the ways individuals and communities engage with health and how use can be optimised to promote health equity and people-centred self-care. Both studentships will contribute to the following objectives:
- Define and document social and structural drivers of ‘rational use’ under conditions of stigma, outbreaks and lifestyle and risk management
- Unpack the dynamic between empowerment through self-testing and engagement with public and private health providers
- Explore uncertainty, trust and risk influencing decisions and intended and unintended beneficial and potentially harmful social and health consequences
In Malawi the student will focus on frontline diagnostics for HIV and diabetes and in Uganda the student will focus on frontline diagnostics for HIV and Ebola. The results of the data will contribute to co-producing toolkits for ‘rational use’ in different contexts and to promoting health equity across mainstream and marginalised groups in different rural and urban settings.
The exact focus of the PhD studentships will be finalised with the successful candidates depending on their interests and applicants are encouraged to contact project supervisors for an informal discussion prior to applying.
Support structure
Each studentship will be supported by their supervisory team as well as other members of the research group. Initially supervisory meetings will be every week individually as we work together to refine the project and then individual supervisory meetings will move to a fortnightly schedule. The students will also be expected to attend and present at monthly full project meetings and will be encouraged to support each other through regular peer-to-peer meetings.
The students will be part of the LSHTM Faculty of Public Health and Policy, the Department of Global Health and Development, and will be encouraged to actively participate in the Anthropology in Global Health Group, which currently has over 30 members based in the UK and overseas.
Further structures for support include Makerere University College of Humanities and Social Sciences (MakCHUSS), which has five schools including the Social Sciences that houses CeSSRA. The students will be provided access to the University training facilities, boardrooms, conference room, library and intellectual resources to support research training. The activities of this program will be integrated into research and training programs of the local institutional center (CeSSRA) for lasting impact. Since inception, CeSSRA has gained experience in training and capacity building, as well as research in social issues that influence uptake of new therapeutic approaches including studies of willingness to participate in HIV and Ebola vaccine trials; social science insights into long-acting antiretroviral drugs and CGT; genetics and genomics research. In Malawi, support structures include the training and development committee, the Population Health Theme and a vibrant trainees community at MLW.
Eligibility criteria
Applicants must hold, or expect to obtain before the start of the PhD, a relevant Master’s degree (e.g. in Anthropology, Sociology, qualitative social science) awarded with good grades and to have a relevant, prior research experience in ethnographic or other in-depth qualitative research experience in Uganda or Malawi.
The studentships are not available to candidates who do not hold Ugandan or Malawian nationality, unless they have been resident in either country for at least three years prior to application.
How to apply
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the supervisory team for an informal discussion before applying. Applicants must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria beforehand. When contacting supervisors, applicants are encouraged to write a short paragraph about their experience and research interests, including ideas for the PhD and how these match the aims of the project and to provide a short CV (no more than 2 pages before publications).
To apply, submit a completed research degree application online using the LSHTM application portal by the scholarship deadline of 23:59 (BST) on 3 October 2025'. 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 brief research proposal (this should identify a specific research question and target research country, expanding on the scope provided in the advert, summarising (in brief) relevant background information [with no more than five key references] and outlining a proposed research methodology to address the research question proposed; references
In addition, applicants for these scholarships must upload the following documents:
A personal statement outlining why you are interested in, and suited to, undertaking a PhD in this area at LSHTM and Makerere University/MLW respectively.
Incomplete applications will not be considered for this studentship. This includes any applications missing supporting/supplementary documents (e.g. 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 and conditions.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview online.