Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway ­­ Ciência sem Fronteiras PhD Project Template 
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Use one form per project Please complete & submit to international@nuigalway.ie as soon as possible, and by 27/11/2012 In your email, begin the subject line with [SWB] (be sure to use square brackets) to ensure that your email is filed correctly. Emails will be automatically filed PI name & contact details: School: Has project been agreed with head (or nominee) of proposed registration school? Agnes Shiel agnes.shiel@nuigalway.ie Health Sciences Research Centre / group School of Health Sciences affiliation: Research group / centre website: http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/occupation
al_therapy/index.html PI website / link to CV: http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/occupation
al_therapy/staff/agnes_shiel.html Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max): If you are already involved in relevant scholarly activities relating to Brazil, please mention them here. The overall themes of the research include assessment and evidence based practice in neurorehabilitation. Examples of current research includes the redevelopment of the Wessex Head Injury Matrix (a scale for assessment of people with disorders of consciousness) and research on assessment and management of patients with Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) particularly in relation to accurate assessment where more sophisticated approaches such as functional neuroimaging are not available. Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web): Title: Disorders of Consciousness in neurodegenerative conditions Research on Disorders of Consciousness (DoC) has, to date, focused on people in Vegetative and Minimally Conscious States following an acquired brain injury (ABI). Results of a recent study suggests that only about 25% of those diagnosed with DoC in continuing care environments are a result of an acquired injury. The proposed study aims to assess this group of patients using behavioural assessments developed for use with the ABI population (SMART, WHIM, JFK Coma Scale) and establish, firstly, similarities and differences of this population to those with a DoC resulting from ABI and secondly to establish the levels of awareness of this population. Results will be used to inform and develop rehabilitation and management programmes. Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway: NUI Galway projects should emphasise features that are not typically available in Brazil – specific equipment, multi‐disciplinarity, aspects of structured programme, links with industry, placements, links with other research groups etc. Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway ­­ Ciência sem Fronteiras The discipline is a relatively new programme (established in 2003) and offers clinical and research expertise in the area together with collaborators in the UK and in Europe. There is an established support system for PhD students and an opportunity to gain clinical experience in the relevant discipline through the structured PhD modules which include three clinical placement modules. Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above: Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply: Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Psychology Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area: Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits‐ choose only one (tick box): Engineering and other technological areas Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)
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Health and Biomedical Sciences Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
Aerospace Pharmaceuticals Oil, Gas and Coal Renewable Energy Minerals Biotechnology Nanotechnology and New Materials Technology of prevention and remediation of natural disasters
Biodiversity and Bioprospection Marine Sciences Creative Industry New technologies in constructive engineering
Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders arrangements): Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N): _ ____ Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): _____ Suitable for either/Don’t know: __Y___