PhD Scholarship 2026 – Neonatal brain injury and neurodevelopmental follow-up

The Opportunity

Preterm birth is associated with long-term socio-cognitive dysfunction, for which early detection during infancy is difficult. This PhD program aims at using state-of-the art multi-channel near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess the functional brain response of infants born preterm in long-term follow-up. The project utilises social-visual stimuli (social videos of people interactions), and aims to detect socio-cognitive disorders early in preterm infants. The program will focus on correlations between neurovascular physiology, neuroimaging and neurodevelopmental assessments. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in clinical follow-up of preterm infants and to assess their neurovascular physiology during infancy.

The program is supported by a NHMRC Leadership Investigator Grant (F Wong). Applicants are also encouraged to apply for government and university-funded scholarships, and priority will be given to the awardees. Ther...