About the Project
Background
Applications are invited from both Home students and International students to join a multidisciplinary team of researchers studying the synchronisation of brain activity to deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease. This studentship is available from the start of academic year 2027/28, is for 4 years, and will be co-supervised by Dr Benoit Duchet and Professor Huiling Tan at the MRC Centre of Research Excellence in Restorative Neural Dynamics.
The Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence in Restorative Neural Dynamics (www.rnd.ac.uk) was launched in November 2025 as a flagship research and innovation enterprise that is focused on harnessing the moment-to-moment interactions between nerve cells (‘neural dynamics’) to transform medical device-based therapy for brain conditions. The MRC CoRE RND incorporates discovery research and translational research aligned to empirical neuroscience, computational neuroscience, experimental medicine, and biomedical engineering. The MRC CoRE RND is exceptionally collaborative, involving partners in academia, neurotechnology industry, research charities, and clinical services. The MRC CoRE RND champions values supporting a positive research culture.
Deep brain stimulation can markedly improve movement in people with Parkinson’s disease, yet we still do not fully understand how it works. Recent studies suggest that it may be particularly effective when gamma-frequency brain activity becomes synchronised to stimulation at half the stimulation frequency, a phenomenon known as half-harmonic entrainment. Understanding and improving deep brain stimulation therefore likely requires the ability to selectively control this synchronisation.
Project Description
The overall goal of this PhD studentship is to develop new patterns of brain stimulation that promote gamma activity through half-harmonic entrainment, and to investigate whether doing so can improve movement in Parkinson’s disease. To achieve this, the project will combine mathematical modelling, experiments in healthy participants using non-invasive brain stimulation and electroencephalography, and a proof-of-concept study in people with Parkinson’s disease.
Training
The project will take place in the Brain Network Dynamics Unit of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences and in the Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence in Restorative Neural Dynamics (MRC CoRE RND). Students will benefit from the extensive interdisciplinary skills training and personalised career development opportunities available within the Unit and the MRC CoRE RND. Students will receive specialised training in their areas of project research (see below) as well as, for example, in the translation and commercialisation of research, best practice in Open Science, and how to effectively involve and engage patients and the public with research.
Spanning computational, experimental and clinical neuroscience, the studentship will provide advanced training in mathematical modelling of brain dynamics, the design and optimisation of brain stimulation, human electrophysiology and rigorous data analysis. You will gain hands-on experience with EEG and non-invasive brain stimulation in healthy participants. You will also have the opportunity to work with brain activity recordings and behavioural measurements from people with Parkinson’s disease undergoing deep brain stimulation. The project will additionally provide training in translating theoretical predictions into experiments in healthy participants and people with Parkinson’s disease.
Qualifications & Experience
Applications are invited from candidates who possess, or expect to receive a 1st class or upper 2nd class degree (or equivalent) in a related quantitative discipline, e.g. mathematics, physics, computer science, engineering. We also encourage applications from candidates with a degree in biological sciences or medicine who have experience with computational methods.
Previous experience in neuroscience research is highly desirable.
Contact
Candidates must contact the lead project supervisor before submitting an application. To find out more about this studentship, the research project, and the application process, please contact Dr Benoit Duchet by email on benoit.duchet@ndcn.ox.ac.uk.
How to apply
To be considered for this studentship, please submit an application for admission to the D.Phil. in Clinical Neurosciences at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (course code RD_CU1), following the guidance for applications to this course. On the application form, in the section headed ‘Departmental Studentship Applications’, please indicate that you are applying for a studentship and enter the reference code “27NDCN01MRC” into the funding tab.
The closing date for applications is 12.00 midday UK time on Tuesday 1st December 2026.
Funding Notes
This four-year Ph.D. (D.Phil.) studentship offers three years of full-time tuition fees at the Home rate, and four years of non-taxable stipend at the full-time UKRI rate (including any uplifts announced). Both Home students and International students are eligible to receive this funding package. Please see further details about MRC/UKRI studentships and UKRI guidance regarding Home and International eligibility. Successful offer-holders who have applied by the December deadline may also be considered for other University of Oxford scholarships.