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PhD opportunities: Cardiology

Compare 14 doctoral research opportunities connected with Cardiology, including project summaries, funding and application deadlines.

Cardiology

Cardiac remodelling and microvascular dysfunction after hypertensive pregnancy: mechanisms and therapeutic targets in preclinical models

The University of Manchester

About the Project Women who develop high blood pressure in pregnancy (pre-eclampsia or gestational hypertension) have a much higher lifetime risk of hypertension, heart failure and stroke. Our own follow-up studies show that 3-6 years after a hypertensive pregnancy around a third of women have developed new hypertension and a similar proportion show scarring (fibrosis) of the heart muscle.

Location
Manchester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
15 October 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Cardiology

MRes - Are self-paced variable-intensity intervals the way forward? Engineering the optimal HIIT workout to maximise the adaptive stimulus (Project ID SAS0229)

Edinburgh Napier University

About the Project Maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O 2max ), the highest rate at which the body can take up and use oxygen during exercise, is a key determinant of endurance performance (Joyner & Coyle, 2008).

Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
19 October 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

Cardiology

FULLY FUNDED PhD in Health Economics – ACROSS Programme, Bangladesh

University of Glasgow

About the Project TO APPLY, PLEASE CLICK INSTITUTION WEBSITE This is a unique opportunity to undertake a fully funded, three-year PhD in Health Economics, based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and registered with the University of Glasgow, UK.

Location
Glasgow, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
20 October 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Cardiology

Novel dynamic shape atlasing of cardiovascular structures in congenital heart disease

University of Bristol

About the Project Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects 1 in 110 births and causes significant long-term morbidity, yet identifying anatomical sub-phenotypes remains difficult. Structural changes over time—enlargement, narrowing, remodelling—are key markers of disease progression, but current shape analysis largely relies on static, cross-sectional snapshots.

Location
Bristol, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
21 October 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Cardiology

Understanding the role of immunometabolic changes and immune exhaustion during recovery of paediatric cardiac bypass surgery

University of Bristol

About the Project 1 in 300 babies born in the UK will require surgery for congenital heart disease. Although cardiopulmonary bypass has transformed survival, recovery varies considerably, with some children developing significant complications. This project will investigate how the immune system responds to surgery by examining changes in immune cell function, metabolism and gene regulation before and after the operation.

Location
Bristol, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
21 October 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Cardiology

Using genetics to understand early and midlife causes of cardiovascular disease

University of Bristol

About the Project Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of ill health in later life. This project uses genetic epidemiology and Mendelian randomization methods to investigate how traits at different ages influence long-term cardiovascular disease risk. Key Research Questions How should age- and trajectory-specific GWAS results be incorporated into Mendelian randomization studies to estimate lifecourse effects?

Location
Bristol, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
21 October 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Cardiology

Vascular morphology and haemodynamic risk of intracranial aneurysm in aortic coarctation

University of Bristol

About the Project Aortic coarctation (CoA) is a common congenital heart disease, and even after successful repair, patients face elevated lifelong risk of hypertension, stroke, and intracranial aneurysm (IA). Why only a subset of patients develop these complications remains poorly understood, and no validated tools exist to identify who is at highest risk.

Location
Bristol, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
21 October 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Cardiology

Deciphering the immune architecture of human atherosclerosis

University of Oxford

About the Project Are you fascinated by how immune and metabolic responses shape cardiovascular disease? The immune system is integral to the cardiovascular health and disease. Targeting inflammation ameliorates cardiovascular outcomes. Atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of cardiovascular disease, is conceptualised as a lipid-driven inflammation.

Location
Oxford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
1 December 2026
Funding
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

Cardiology

Advanced 3D cell models for assessing vascular function in vitro

University of Bradford

About the Project Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe. Disorders of the blood vessels, such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, aneurysm or stroke are responsible for substantial health and social care costs and the mechanisms that lead to these disorders are still incompletely understood, hence there is an urgent need to create laboratory models of these disorders that can help drive the understanding of disease mechanisms and…

Location
Bradford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Cardiology

Evaluation of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac myocytes for cardiotoxicity testing

University of Bradford

About the Project Evaluation of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac myocytes (hiPSC-CMs) for cardiotoxicity testing Potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias such as Torsades des Pointes (TdP) are linked to adverse side-effects of drugs intended as potential treatments for a variety of clinical disorders. Drugs that, unintentionally, affect ion channels can increase or decrease the cardiac action potential duration, depending on their effect.

Location
Bradford, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Cardiology

From metabolism to immunity: rediscovering SGLT2

University of Leicester

About the Project SGLT2 inhibitors are widely prescribed for type 2 diabetes, yet their true potential may extend far beyond blood sugar control. Clinical trials have already shown that these drugs reduce cardiovascular events, protect the kidney, and improve survival. Surprisingly, many of these benefits cannot be explained by glucose lowering alone. This raises an exciting and urgent scientific question: what is SGLT2 really doing inside the body?

Location
Leicester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Cardiology

Mapping cardiac microstructure in aortic stenosis and diabetes using diffusion MRI and machine learning

University of Leicester

About the Project Heart failure remains one of the leading causes of hospitalisation and death worldwide. Two of its most important causes, type 2 diabetes and aortic stenosis, both lead to thickening and stiffening of the heart muscle, but the microscopic processes underlying these changes are not fully understood.

Location
Leicester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Cardiology

SGLT2 inhibitors and mitochondrial function: a new avenue for an existing drug

University of Leicester

About the Project Sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are an established class of antidiabetic drugs that have demonstrated additional benefits beyond glycaemic control, including cardiovascular and renal protection. Despite growing clinical evidence of their multi-system effects, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood.

Location
Leicester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only

Cardiology

Unravelling the Complex Pathogenic Mechanisms of RYR2 Exon-3 Deletion Using an Inducible Stem Cell Model

The University of Manchester

About the Project Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is a genetic arrhythmia syndrome characterized by the onset of life-threatening arrhythmias during exertion or emotional stress. CPVT is caused by mutations of the cardiac ryanodine receptor gene ( RYR2 ). Mutations of RYR2 predispose to the onset calcium waves delayed afterdepolarization that lead to arrhythmias especially following adrenergic stimulation.

Location
Manchester, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
Deadline
Year-round applications
Funding
Self-Funded PhD Students Only