Health and Well-being and Data Science: Funded WGSSS Studentship. The effect of vaginal infections on fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and neonatal outcomes

Key Information

Open to: UK and international applicants

Funding Providers:The Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences at Swansea University are delighted to offer a fully funded Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS) (ESRC DTP) studentship in the Health and Well-being and Data Science Pathway starting in October 2026

Subject Area: Health and Well-being and Data Science

Project Start Dates:October 2026

Supervisors:

• Dr Arron Lacey
• Professor Emma Kidd (Cardiff University)
• Dr Robin Andrews (Cardiff University)

Aligned programme of study: Health and Well-Being and Data Science, PhD

Mode of study:Durations of study varies from 3.5 (PhD) to 1+3.5 (MSc + PhD) years full-time (or part-time equivalent). The duration study is dependent on prior research experience and training needs of the student which will be assessed by completing a Development Needs Analysis. We welcome applications for both full and part-time study.

Place of study: Swansea University (Singleton Campus)

Project description

Vaginal infections, including bacterial vaginosis (BV) and vulvovaginal candidiasis (thrush), are highly prevalent among people of reproductive age. Although often treated as minor or self-limiting conditions, there is an increasing concern that vaginal infections may have important consequences for fertility, pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and neonatal outcomes. Existing evidence is inconsistent, frequently underpowered, and limited by short follow-up, selective samples, and inadequate control for confounding. As a result, the true population-level impact of vaginal infections on reproductive health remains poorly understood.

This PhD project will address the question of whether vaginal infections affect fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and neonatal outcomes. It will use large-scale routinely collected healthcare data from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank, Health & Her’s data repository and UK Biobank. The project will take a life-course and population-health perspective, focusing on people with well recorded longitudinal data on reproductive health outcomes.

The Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank is a research resource that contains linked primary and secondary care, maternity, and demographic records for >86% of the population of Wales, enabling long-term follow-up of health outcomes. UK Biobank is a large national cohort study of >500,000 participants, with detailed self-reported reproductive histories, lifestyle data, biological measures, and linked health records. Health & Her’s data repository contains >300,000 women’s data on vaginal, menstrual, and menopausal symptoms and reproductive experiences collected through a digital health platform: the Health & Her app. Health & Her is a women's health company offering expert-formulated supplements, a freely-available app, and advice via their app and website to support women through challenges related to periods, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause. The Health & Her app enables women (at no cost) to monitor their hormonal health and symptoms once they have agreed that their anonymised data can be used for academic research purposes.  Together, these datasets provide complementary strengths, combining routine clinical records with rich self-reported symptom and treatment data.

In Year 1 the student will address the first aim to examine associations between vaginal infections and reproductive outcomes by conducting a systematic literature review. This review will include bacterial vaginosis, vulvovaginal candidiasis, and other vaginal infections (including sexual transmitted infections and non-infectious irritation), and will synthesise evidence relating to infertility diagnoses, miscarriage, preterm birth, postpartum outcomes, and neonatal health. The review will identify gaps in current knowledge, assess methodological limitations, and inform the operationalisation of exposures and outcomes in the empirical analyses.

In Years 2 and 3, the student will address the second aim to examine patterns of vaginal infections and treatments over time and their associations with fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and neonatal outcomes, while allowing comparison and validation across data sources. They will conduct quantitative analyses using SAIL data, Health & Her’s data repository, and UK Biobank. Exposure definitions will include recorded diagnoses of vaginal infections as well as treatment episodes, including antibiotics, antifungals, and lactic acid-based therapies. The student will examine associations with infertility diagnoses, health during pregnancy, miscarriage, preterm birth, postpartum outcomes (such as wound healing following vaginal tears, caesarean sections, and assisted births), and neonatal outcomes.

The project will also explore inequalities in exposure (e.g. vaginal infection diagnoses rates), medication history, and outcomes by socioeconomic deprivation, ethnicity, age, and access to care, where data permit. Analytical approaches will be selected and developed by the student in consultation with supervisors and will include cohort designs and longitudinal modelling techniques appropriate for routinely collected health data.

A central component of the project will be critical evaluation of the strengths and limitations of using routine healthcare data to study vaginal health, including issues of underdiagnosis, symptom and condition coding. variability, treatment pathways, and healthcare-seeking behaviour.

Overall, this project will generate robust epidemiological evidence on the reproductive health consequences of vaginal infections at population scale. While the primary focus is epidemiological understanding, the findings have clear potential to inform innovation, future clinical guidelines, public health policy, and data collection priorities. The project is deliberately designed to allow the student to refine research questions, develop independent methodological expertise, and shape a PhD that is both rigorous and original.

Eligibility

Entry Criteria:

To receive WGSSS studentship funding, you must have qualifications or experience equivalent to an UK honours degree at a first or upper second-class level, or a masters degree. Students with non-traditional academic backgrounds are also welcome to apply.

Note for international and European applicants:

Details of how your qualification compares to the published academic entry requirements can be found on our Country Specific Entry Requirementspage.

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.

Funding Notes

The studentship funded by the ESRC covers tuition fees, an annual tax-free living stipend of in line with UKRI minimum rates (currently £20,780 for 2025-26 full-time) and includes access to a Research Training Support Grant. Full and part-time applications are welcomed. If you have a disability, you may be entitled to a Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) on top of your studentship.