The Centre for Pain IMPACT has PhD scholarship opportunities available.

Why the Centre for Pain IMPACT?

NeuRA’s Centre for Pain IMPACT is a leader in chronic pain research. Through collaborations with top scientists, healthcare professionals, health networks, and policymakers, the Centre aims to improve the lives of individuals suffering from chronic pain. The Centre leads innovative, evidence-based research and education and is training the next generation of pain researchers and pain clinical researchers.

PhD opportunities include:

• Access to a high-performing team with an excellent track record in research supervision and output
• Generous stipend and additional support for national and international conferences
• Active and supportive PhD student and supervisory group
• Research education, including weekly research seminars and monthly research meetings
• Training in research skills (internal and external)
• Financial support for PhD students: $42,500 annually (The University of New South Wales offers an RTP scholarship of $37,500 annually, and Neuroscience Research Australia contributes a further $5,000 per annum as a top-up). 

For more information, please complete the below form and we will be in contact shortly: 

https://forms.gle/oH3xpb51kdpMQghKA

Eligibility: 

· The PhD projects are open to full-time students with Honours or Honours equivalent (e.g., Master by Research).

· Prior clinical research or clinical experience is encouraged.

Potential projects:

• CAPACITY
  • CAPACITY is a type I effectiveness-implementation telehealth trial that will test whether pain education and patient-led goal setting increase physical activity and reduce blood pressure more than a guideline-based exercise control in adults with chronic low back pain.
• EQUIP-Australia
  • Culturally diverse Australians receive disproportionate pain care for musculoskeletal conditions. Equitable pain care-Australia (EQUIP-Australia) aims to develop and test culturally appropriate interventions for culturally diverse Australians living with musculoskeletal conditions.
• EQUIP-ALL
  • Low back pain is the number one cause of disability globally, with a substantial disability burden in resource-limited countries. EQUIP-ALL (Equitable pain care-Globally) aims to improve care for low back pain in low- and middle-income countries.
• NOTUS
  • The NOTUS trial will investigate the effectiveness/​implementation of a mobile app intervention prescribed by general practitioners during the consultation to support the management of chronic back pain in primary care.
• AID-BACK
  • The AID-Back project will involve the development-feasibility-evaluation-implementation of an Artificial Intelligence Decision-making chatbot for back pain management to improve evidence-based care and facilitate shared decision-making for back pain.
• TITAN
  • TITAN is a single clinical trial of two potential, non-drug, treatments for Phantom Limb Pain, a rare condition that affects 1 per 4000 people in Australia, and up to 80% of people with limb loss. TITAN, a definitive clinical trial of a promising new intervention, will provide meaningful change to the management of Phantom Limb Pain.
• RAPID
  • Chronic low back pain is the leading contributor to disease burden in Australia. This project aims to investigate the effectiveness and safety of commonly used treatments for low back pain to support evidence-based care.
• RESOLVE‑D
  • The RESOLVE‑D project aims to implement graded sensorimotor retraining, a new rehabilitation program that produced clinically meaningful and sustained reductions in pain and disability, into clinical practice to treat people with chronic low back pain.
• ReconNECKt
  • The ReconNECKt trial will compare a new personalised, integrated treatment approach to a carefully designed placebo treatment to test whether the new treatment is effective for people with chronic neck pain.