Understanding sweet-liking phenotypes: differences in eating behaviour and metabolic responses to food intake as a function of sweet liking – implications for personalised weight loss interventions
PhD
Key facts
Start dates
September 2024 / October 2024
Application deadline
8 April 2024
Location
Course length
Full time: 3 years
Supervisor(s)
More details
Eligibility: Home UK/EU applicants with settled or pre-settled status
Bursary p.a: equivalent to UKRI national minimum stipend plus fees (2023/24 bursary rate is £18,622)
University fees and bench fees will be met by the University for the 3 years of the funded Studentship
This course is not available to students classed as International for fees purposes.
Overview
Is the 'sweet tooth' to blame for obesity? During exposure to food stimuli, afferent information from the food’s sensory properties, the body’s (an)orexigenic hormones, and prior memories are integrated centrally. The degree to which ingestive behaviour is biased toward hedonic or homeostatic signals depends on the food type and our need state. Sweetness with its dopamine‐ and opioid‐dependent reinforcing properties and post-ingestive gut‐to‐brain sensing pathways may steer our choices toward overconsumption, and ultimately weight gain. However, we have not uniformly developed obesity.
To respond to the call for personalised/multidisciplinary weight management strategies, exploring taste hedonics' role in the interplay between physiology and psychology in overeating shows promise. This project aims to explore the link between interpersonal variation in sweet-liking with appetite control and behavioural traits to inform the development of a novel personalised weight loss e-intervention.
Additional details
Seeking an enthusiastic contributor for this exciting project combining physiology and psychology to impact population health. Join our friendly interdisciplinary research, working in state-of-the-art labs under the supervision of subject-area experts.
Dr Thondre's research focuses on glycaemia, satiety, and sensometrics. Dr Iatridi has developed the Sussex sweet-liking phenotyping test and published work on sweetness and eating behaviours. Dr Daly is a public health mixed methods researcher. Collaborators from the School of Psychology at Sussex University and Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences will bring their expertise in appetite research and weight loss trials.
The studentship requires you to undertake the equivalent of up to 6 hrs of teaching per week on average, during semester time, and to include preparation and marking (but no more than 20 hrs per week), and to participate in a teaching skills course without further remuneration.
How to apply
Entry requirements
Entry requirements: Applicants should have a first or upper second-class honours degree from a Higher Education Institution in the UK or acceptable equivalent qualification.
English language requirements
EU Applicants must have a valid IELTS Academic test certificate (or equivalent) with an overall minimum score of 7.0 and no score below 6.0 issued in the last 2 years by an approved test centre.
Application process
Please download and follow the application instructions. Complete applications should include a research proposal (max 500 words) about how you would conduct the study. Contact hls-applications@brookes.ac.uk with any application queries.
Contact Dr Vasiliki Iatridi with any project queries: viatridi@brookes.ac.uk
Director of Studies: Dr Sangeetha Thondre
Supervisors: Dr Vasiliki Iatridi, Dr Aisling Daly
This project is advertised on a competitive basis alongside the current Nigel Groome PhD studentship advertisement ‘Technology in diabetes self-care: use and contextual engagement with flash and continuous glucose monitoring’.
The provisional interview date is 29 April 2024.
Part time MPhil/PhD study will be exceptionally considered.
Tuition fees
Questions about fees?
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