PhD/MPhil Occupational & Environmental Health / Course details

Themes of our work and illustrative papers are as follows: Occupational exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents and risk of adverse health outcomes

•     Cross-sectional study exploring the association between stressors and burnout in junior doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Occup Health. 2022 Jan;64(1):e12311. doi: 10.1002/1348-9585.12311.PMID: 35025106

•     Evaluation of proteins in natural rubber latex gloves and pulmonary function amongst female nurses in two tertiary hospitals in southern, Thailand. Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol. 2022 Sep 1;40(3):240-246. doi: 10.12932/AP-310319-0530.PMID: 31677619

•     Insufficient respiratory hazard identification in the safety data sheets for cleaning and disinfection products used in healthcare organisations across England and Wales. Occup Environ Med. 2021 Apr;78(4):293-295. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2020-106881. Epub 2021 Feb 9. PMID: 33563606.

•     Improving Exposure Assessment Methodologies for Epidemiological Studies on Pesticides: Study Protocol. JMIR Res Protoc 2020;9(2):e16448 DOI: 10.2196/16448. PMID: 32130188

Environmental exposure and risk of adverse health outcomes

•     Geochemical compositional controls on DNA strand breaks induced in in vitro cell-free assays by crushed rock powders from the Panasqueira mine area, Portugal. Environ Geochem Health. 2021 Jul;43(7):2631-2647. doi: 10.1007/s10653-020-00653-9. PMID 32648060

•     Air pollution and placental function. 2020-12-31

•     Variations in semen quality and sperm DNA damage in a longitudinal study 2020-12-31

Biomarkers of occupational and environmental exposures

•     The marker of alkyl DNA base damage, N7-methylguanine, is associated with semen quality in men. Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 4;11(1):3121. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-81674-x.PMID: 33542261

Return to work following sickness absence

•     Reporting and prediction of work-related sickness absence by general practitioners. Occup Med (Lond)  2016 Nov 1;66(8):662-668.  doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqw108.

Training and development

All of our postgraduate researchers attend the Doctoral Academy Training Programme delivered by the Researcher Development team . The programme provides key transferable skills and equips our postgraduate researchers with the tools to progress beyond their research degree into influential positions within academia, industry and consultancy. The emphasis is on enhancing skills critical to developing early-stage researchers and professionals, whether they relate to effective communication, disseminating research findings and project management skills.

PhD/MPhil programmes are based on individual research projects that last three to four years (PhD) or one or two years (MPhil), working with a specific Primary Supervisor and Co-Supervisor(s).

Applicants are specifically matched with a Primary Supervisor and individual project based on their research interests and background.

International applicants interested in this research area can also consider our PhD programme with integrated teaching certificate .

This unique programme will enable you to gain a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning, whilst also carrying out independent research on your chosen project.

Attendance Requirement for Distance Learning Programme

Students must maintain expected virtual presence and communication with their Supervisor in order to remain registered on the programme and follow all online progression milestones as for any PGR student.

Students must attend, in person, the Welcome and Induction activities organised by the Doctoral Academy in September.  As a result, a September start date is preferable.  Students should also attend, in person, the compulsory `Life as a PhD Student' training.

Students are encouraged to consider undertaking additional training offered via the  Doctoral Academy Training Programme.

It is expected that students will spend a  minimum  of one working week (5 days) in attendance at the University (in addition to welcome/induction days).  This may coincide with formal study weeks (ie in NMSW) and will present the opportunity for the student to spend time with their Supervisory team, visit the Library or local research facilities.

Students must participate in the formal Annual Review meeting, ideally in person, but attendance via Skype etc can be considered.

The final oral examination will be held at the University of Manchester.  Only in very  exceptional  circumstances will a student be allowed to undertake the viva remotely.

Find out more about what it's like to undertake a postgraduate research degree at Manchester on the Doctoral Academy Blog and the support available through our Faculty Doctoral Academy.

You will have access to a range of  research and learning facilities  across the University and at some of our partner organisations.