Understanding the impacts of food insecurity on age-related disease

About the Project

Are you a bioscience student interested in collaborating with social scientists to understand a major cause of ill health?

The Food Foundation estimates that 20% of households in the UK currently experience food insecurity. In addition to the acute hunger caused by lack of access to sufficient food, epidemiological studies suggest that exposure to food insecurity also has long-term negative effects on health. Counterintuitively, food insecurity is associated with an increased risk of obesity. It is also associated with increased poor physical and mental health and reduced longevity. Understanding whether food insecurity directly causes these problems, and if so, the mechanisms involved, would have important implications for both social policy and medicine.

The aim of this project is to identify and understand the biological mechanisms underpinning the health impacts of food insecurity. Contrary to common assumptions, our recent results suggest that food insecurity-induced weight gain is unlikely to be primarily driven by increased energy intake. Instead, we hypothesise that exposure to food insecurity triggers behavioural and metabolic adaptations that divert energy that would normally be spent on maintaining and repairing the body into increased fat stores as insurance against starvation. The project will test behavioural and metabolic changes predicted by this hypothesis.

Cause and effect can only be definitively established by conducting randomised controlled experiments. However, it is practically and ethically challenging to manipulate food insecurity in humans. Through an exciting multidisciplinary collaboration, we will recruit healthy human participants for a dietary intervention study in which we will experimentally manipulate patterns of eating to simulate the key features of a food-insecure diet. To measure health, we will focus on physiological data from wearables, metabolic measures taken on lab visits and analysis of biomarkers in blood samples analysed in the wet lab.

The studentship will provide multidisciplinary training in a range of methods, including Open Science practices, study design, behavioural measurement in free-living participants, human nutrition and ageing biology.

The project provides an exciting opportunity for a student to engage in a project that brings together basic bioscience science and social science to generate results with direct relevance to human health.

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.