Biomedical Science & Engineering: Fully Funded PhD Studentship in Small Scale Approaches for Rheological Characterisation of Blood Clotting and Breakdown RS854

Funding Provider: Faculty of Medicine Health Life Science

The subject areas: Biomedical Science' Biomedical Engineering' Chemical Engineering' Rheology 

The Project start dates: October 2025 

Supervisors: Professor Karl Hawkins, Dr Daniel Curtis, Dr Suresh Pillai 

Aligned programme of study: PhD in Nanomedicine 

Mode of study: Full-time 

Place of Study: Swansea University 

Project Description 
Thrombosis, including stroke, heart attack, and deep vein thrombosis, is a major global cause of death. Stroke is the third leading cause of death and disability in UK adults. Current treatments, like clot busting drugs, often fail and can cause bleeding. Due to the lack of reliable biomarkers for clotting and clot breakdown, treatment decisions are made without knowing a patient’s clotting status. There is an urgent need for better biomarkers to guide and help develop future therapies to improve clinical outcomes. 

The PhD student will work alongside researchers as part of our new UKRI-funded "Clot Busting" project. The proposed work aims to develop new functional biomarkers of clot breakdown by utilising recent advances in rheometry. Specifically, this studentship will focus on small-scale approaches for measuring the rheology of blood clots, including both conventional rheological testing and microrheology. The student will gain experience working at the interface between Engineering and Medicine and will also have exposure to clinical activity at the Welsh Centre for Emergency Medicine Research at Morriston Hospital. 

UK Fee Eligible Students Only 

Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only, as defined by UKCISA - Full list of categories for HE in Wales  

_______________ 

Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level and a master’s degree. Alternatively, applicants with a UK first class honours degree (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University) not holding a master’s degree, will be considered on an individual basis. See - Country Specific Entry Requirements page. 

English Language: IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.5) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. For further information, please see the Swansea University English Language Entry Policy. 
If you have any questions regarding your academic or fee eligibility based on the above, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk with the web-link to the scholarship(s) you are interested in. 

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £20,780 for 2025/26). 

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available. 

To apply, please complete the entire application form:

In order to be considered for this scholarship award the following steps are also required. 

1) In section ‘Programme Related Information’ please input the relevant RS Code for the scholarship award i.e. RS854 

2) In section ‘Research’ you will see ‘Proposed project title/studentship title’* (Mandatory) 

• In ‘Proposed project title/studentship title’ please input:  

• the RS Code, RS854
• the scholarship title

• Please leave Proposed Supervisor field blank 
• Please leave Research Project (if applicable) blank 
• In ‘Do you have a proposal to upload?*’(Mandatory) Please select Yes 
• Then upload copy of advert (you can save the advert by clicking print, and then print to pdf) 

3) In section ‘Funding information’ please choose the option ‘Scholarship Funding’ only. Please ensure no other options are selected. 

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the scholarship award. 

One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards. 

If you’ve previously applied for this programme, the system will display an “Application Submitted” warning and block a new submission. In this case:

1. Apply for the same course with the next available start date (e.g., select January if October is unavailable).
2. Email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk with your student number and the relevant scholarship RS code, requesting the start date be amended to match the advert.
3. Admissions staff will then update your application accordingly.

NOTE: Applicants for PhD/EngD/ProfD/EdD - to support our commitment to providing an environment free of discrimination and celebrating diversity at Swansea University you are required to complete an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form in addition to your programme application form.    

Please note that completion of the EDI Monitoring Form is mandatory; your application may not progress if this information is not submitted. 

As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email): 

• CV 

• Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date are sufficient) 

• A cover letter including a ‘Supplementary Personal Statement’ to explain why the position particularly matches your skills and experience and how you choose to develop the project. 

• One reference (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference. 

• Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable). 

• Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable) 

• Confirmation of EDI form submission 

Informal enquiries are welcome; please contact Professor Karl Hawkins: K.M.Hawkins@Swansea.ac.uk 

*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the scholarship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a scholarship project is applicable.