PhD Studentship: Transforming Dietary Assessment for Shared-Plate Settings in Ethiopia

About the Project

PhD Studentship: Transforming Dietary Assessment for Shared‑Plate Settings in Ethiopia

Join a mission‑driven PhD that tackles the triple burden of malnutrition in low‑ and middle‑income countries (LMICs) by delivering robust, individual‑level dietary data—essential for effective, equitable public health action.

Project Overview

You will adapt and validate Intake24, a scalable, web‑based 24‑hour dietary recall system, for Ethiopia. Localisation will include translation, culturally relevant foods and recipes, context‑appropriate portion‑size aids, and linkage to Ethiopian food composition data. Validity and precision will be evaluated through controlled feeding studies and comparison with traditional in‑person recalls. Two core questions drive the work:

1. How valid and precise is Intake24 for individual dietary assessment in Ethiopia?
2. Which method most accurately estimates individual portion sizes from shared plates?

Methodological Innovation

You will design and field‑test a novel sensor‑based toolkit (load sensors and accelerometers) to unobtrusively quantify intakes during shared‑plate meals. Performance will be benchmarked against established techniques (e.g., playdough/rice displacement, food‑image estimation), assessing accuracy, feasibility, user acceptability, and cost. A subsequent feeding study with video capture will document eating patterns and enable cross‑method validation, culminating in a robust method for portion‑size determination in shared‑plate contexts.

Training & Environment

The studentship is embedded in the Human Nutrition and Exercise Research Centre (HNERC)—a supportive, multi‑disciplinary environment with structured skills training and a strong equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) ethos. You will be part of the MRC‑funded Global Partnership “Developing in‑country capacity to collect low‑cost, high‑quality, granular data on individual dietary intake across Africa and Asia,” working closely with in‑country teams and gaining experience in dietary assessment, user‑centred design, field methods, and data validation. Tangible outputs include food photographs, an Ethiopian food composition dataset, validated protocols, and a localised version of Intake24 ready for deployment.

Impact

This work provides a cost‑effective pathway to generate high‑quality individual‑level dietary data at scale in LMICs—enabling targeted public health messaging, evaluation of interventions (e.g., fortification), and monitoring against national and global nutrition goals. By enabling gender‑ and age‑disaggregated analyses, the project advances SDGs 2, 3, 5, and 10.

Supervision

The supervisory team brings deep expertise in international nutrition and Ethiopia‑focused partnerships (Georg Lietz; Masresha Tessema) and world‑leading experience in Intake24 development and localisation (Jennifer Bradley; Emma Foster), with an excellent track record of PhD completion and impactful translation.

Ideal candidates: Background in nutrition, public/global health, or related quantitative fields; enthusiasm for field research, cross‑cultural collaboration, and method development.

Funding

Students who have, or are expecting to attain, at least an upper second-class honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject, are invited to apply. Funding is available for Home (UK) students to cover tuition fees, a tax-free stipend at the UKRI rate (indicative amount in year 1 in 2026-27, £21,805) and research costs, for four years. Applicants normally required to cover International fees will have to cover the difference between the Home and the International tuition fee rates. There is no additional funding available to cover NHS Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) costs, visa costs, flights etc.

Funding for this studentship is awarded on a competitive basis and is not guaranteed; availability will depend on the outcome of the selection process and subject to final approval by the University.

HOW TO APPLY

Please complete the following application form – Google Form

Applicants can only apply for 1 project; any additional applications will not be accepted.

Applicants should send the following documents to FMSstudentships@newcastle.ac.uk:

• a CV (including contact details of at least two academic (or other relevant) referees).
• a Cover letter – stating your project choice, as well as including additional information you feel is pertinent to your application.
• copies of your relevant undergraduate degree transcripts and certificates.
• a copy of your IELTS or TOEFL English language certificate (where required)
• a copy of your passport (photo page).

A GUIDE TO THE FORMAT REQUIRED FOR THE APPLICATION DOCUMENTS IS AVAILABLE

Please submit your documents in the following format only:

• each document should be submitted as a separate attachment and should be named as follows: candidate surname, candidate name – document type. For example: Jones, Jamie – CV; Jones, Jamie – cover letter.
• Please submit .pdf documents where possible for your CV, cover letter, transcripts and certificates. Do not submit photos of certificates.
• Do not combine documents into one pdf. You may zip separate documents into a zip file to send via email if required.
• When emailing your application, please use the email subject header: FMS PhD Application 2026

Applications not meeting these criteria may be rejected.

Informal enquiries may be made to the lead supervisor of the project you are interested in.

The deadline for all applications is 12 noon BST (UK time) on Wednesday 20th May 2026.