Colt Foundation Fellowships in Occupational/Environmental Health 2011

The Foundation awards Fellowships each year to persons who are qualified in science or medicine who are carrying out research within the area of occupational and environmental health, and applications are now invited from prospective students who are interested in further study in this area. The Fellowship is normally for three years and the research is expected to lead to a PhD degree. Prospective students should apply to Mrs Jackie Douglas, address below, and should include an outline of the proposed research, a CV, a detailed letter of support from the proposed supervisor and the contact details of two referees. The application must be submitted by the student personally and not by their supervisor on their behalf, although it is expected that the supervisor will have an input to ensure that the project can lead to a successful PhD. Fellowships are awarded in competition, and the outline must therefore contain sufficient detail to enable the selection panel to determine that the work has been well-designed, the work is worthwhile and can be completed in the three-year period, and to enable the panel to decide which students should be interviewed. The stipend rate for the first year is £12,000 (£13,000 inside London), rising with inflation for the following two years. UK fees will be paid as incurred, together with a sum to cover research expenses. The grant does not attraction any taxation.

Copies of the advertisement for the 2011 Fellowships will be mailed to all Universities and Colleges in the UK during July 2010 to ensure maximum exposure. Applications will need to be submitted to The Colt Foundation at the address shown below by 18th October 2010, and those shortlisted for interview will be asked to attend in London in December 2010. Please quote reference CF11W.

If there are any queries about the Colt Foundation Fellowships, please contact Jackie Douglas on 023 9249 1400, or email: jackie.douglas@uk.coltgroup.com or write to The Colt Foundation, New Lane, Havant, Hampshire PO9 2LY.

Many topics have been covered by PhD students:

• The effect of employee assistance on individual well-being, and organisational healthlines



• Neurological disease in a cohort of dockyard workers



• Molecular mechanisms involved in fibre-induced DNA damage



• The relationship between lung function decline and dust exposure in cotton and manmade fibre textile workers



• The structural chemistry of compounds which cause occupational asthma and dermatitis



• Risk of congenital anomaly in relation to residence near hazardous waste landfill sites



• Shoulder pain in the workplace: occupational risk factors protocol



• Chemical speciation of toxic trace elements in hair for use in the study of exposure to chemicals in the environment and workplace



• Compiling a case register of anophthalmia/microphthalmia in England for examination of the association with some environmental risk factors



• Classical and molecular epidemiological studies of tuberculosis in the South African gold mines



• The physiological and bronchial inflammatory marker response to exposure in the workplace in patients with occupational asthma



• Signal transduction in mesothelial cells treated with mineral fibres



• Molecular studies on the quartz hazard in relation to its carcinogenesis
  
  
• The investigation of potential biomarkers for cancer risk associated with occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium



• Characterisation of the effects of intermittant or prolonged exposure to environmentally relevant UV radiation in mammalian cells



• Prevention of occupational asthma: an economic appraisal



• Toxicological and chemical characteristics of airborne particles in occupational and ambient environments



• Aeroallergens, air pollution and asthma morbidity - a time series analysis



• The positive work environment and its effects on employee health



• A molecular approach to understanding the mechanism(s) of silica-induced lung carcinogenesis



• Temperature-related mortality in New Delhi and Cape Town



• An investigation into the effects of trained state and microgravity upon baroreceptor function and blood pressure control



• External magnetic fields and human health: a link to biological enzyme reaction systems



• Chemoreceptor renin-angiotensin system activity and the exertional ventilatory response to acute hypoxia

Three Fellowships were awarded as a result of interviews held in December 2009:

Mr Noah Scovronick, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
"Human health, climate change and the bio-energy industry ".

Ms Anja Schinwald, University of Edinburgh
"High aspect ratio nanomaterials and the asbestos pathogenicity paradigm".

Ms Ella James, University of Oxford
"Occupational risk factors affecting mental health: developing simple, theory-driven preventative strategies to target flashbacks associated with post traumatic stress in the workplace".

ADDITIONAL STUDENTS

54 nurses have also received support through a scheme administered by the Royal College of Nursing, Society of Occupational Health Nursing, to assist nurses to undertake a course of study at a college, polytechnic or university leading to a qualification in occupational health nursing.

14 overseas students have also been funded at Plater College, Oxford by way of a Memorial Scholarship to I J (Jack) O’Hea, who had strong links with the College over a long period of time.