This fully funded PhD position at the University of Edinburgh focuses on investigating how chronic pain and analgesic use influence cognitive decline and dementia. The project, supervised by Dr Chloe Fawns-Ritchie, Prof Riccardo Marioni, Prof Simon Cox, Associate Prof Sara Hägg (Karolinska Institutet), and Prof Barbara Nicholl (University of Glasgow), leverages data from major longitudinal cohorts including UK Biobank, Generation Scotland, and the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. These datasets provide extensive cognitive, health, sociodemographic, genomic, and neuroimaging data, all linked to electronic health records.

The research aims to clarify the pathways connecting chronic pain and pain medication prescribing to cognitive outcomes, using advanced statistical techniques such as Structural Equation Modelling. Key objectives include examining the effects of different analgesic types and prescribing patterns on cognitive function and dementia risk, and exploring how these relationships vary by pain characteristics, genetic risk, and neurostructural factors. The project also allows for the investigation of mediators and moderators such as comorbidities, epigenetic biomarkers, and brain structure.

Students will gain expertise in precision medicine, psychology, cognitive and brain ageing, epidemiology, health data science, and complex statistical modelling. Comprehensive training is provided, including opportunities to work with genomic, epigenetic, and neuroimaging data, and to visit collaborating labs such as the Molecular Epidemiology of Ageing lab at Karolinska Institutet.

Applicants should apply to this specific project via the University of Edinburgh's EUCLID system, submitting the Precision Medicine Recruitment Form and all requested documents. The deadline for applications is 12 January 2026. This opportunity is ideal for candidates interested in dementia research, chronic pain, advanced modelling, and interdisciplinary health science.