Multiple Long-Term Conditions (MLTC) PhD Programme for Health Professionals

Neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g., dyslexia, ADHD, dyscalculia) and psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance use disorders) frequently co-occur yet are too often studied in isolation. This PhD will map the transdiagnostic architecture and life‑course trajectories of these conditions by integrating longitudinal phenotypes with genomic data from deeply phenotyped population-based and clinical cohorts. You will apply advanced statistical genomic methods (e.g., GWAS, Genomic SEM, polygenic risk scores, genetic correlations, and Mendelian randomisation) to quantify shared versus specific risks, characterise transdiagnostic symptom dimensions, and test causal pathways, with the long‑term goal of improving early diagnosis. Supervised by Prof Silvia Paracchini (University of St Andrews) and Prof Michelle Luciano (University of Edinburgh), you will work in a cross‑disciplinary, multi‑team environment, join international consortia, and engage stakeholders via the Specific Learning Difficulties Network, gaining hands‑on experience in data ethics and governance and public and patient involvement. You will benefit from access to high‑performance computing, secure data environments, and multi‑layer omics resources (genotyping, exome, linked clinical data), plus training in reproducible analysis (R/Python), preregistration, and open science, with opportunities for research visits and outreach activities.