Research Student Project
Supervisor name & contact details:
Dr. Daniel McCartney
School of Biological Sciences, DIT Kevin Street.
Email: Daniel.McCartney@dit.ie
Weblink: http://dit.ie/biologicalsciences/
Prof. Michael Turner
UCD Centre for Human Reproduction, Coombe
Women and Infants University Hospital.
Weblink:
http://www.coombe.ie/index.php?nodeId=174
Research Centre Name and Website (if
applicable)
Please indicate if the intention is to transfer
from the Masters programme to the PhD
programme (if applicable)
Yes
Please indicate if the project is suitable for a
self-funded student
No
Funding Agency
DIT Fiosraigh Scholarship
Scholarship Details
Stipend of €16,000 and €2,000 for project
costs per annum for four years.
Subject Area
Reproductive Nutrition
Title of the Project
Associations between Maternal Diet and
Health Behaviours and Neonatal Health
Outcomes
Project Description (max 300 words)
This Ph.D. Scholarship is a collaborative initiative between DIT and the UCD Centre for
Human Reproduction, and is funded by DIT through their Fiosraigh Research Programme.
The project aims to investigate the effect of maternal dietary and lifestyle behaviours in
pregnancy on the health outcomes of their infants.
The Scholar will collect maternal dietary, anthropometric, body composition and
biomarker data from women during their pregnancy, and will relate these to the health
outcomes of their children at birth and afterwards.
Analysis of these data will reveal the dietary and lifestyle habits most associated with
fetal health outcomes.
The Scholar will be part of a medical research team incorporating researchers in obstetrics and
paediatrics, and will be expected to liaise effectively with these other disciplines and team
members on a day to day basis. The Scholar will also be expected to attend ante-natal and postnatal clinics to collect data, as well as relevant scientific and educational meetings and
conferences; to produce academic papers describing the findings of this research and to
undertake other tasks as required under the direction of the research supervisors. The Scholar
will submit a Ph.D. thesis to DIT at the conclusion of the study period.
This study will be undertaken under the supervision of Dr. Daniel McCartney, Lecturer in Human
Nutrition & Dietetics at DIT, and Professor Michael Turner, UCD Professor of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology and Director of the HSE Clinical Care Programme in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Please indicate the student requirements for this project
Minimum of a 2.1. BSc. (hons.) in Human Nutrition & Dietetics, Dietetics or Nutrition. Background
experience in statistical analysis will also be required, with previous experience of large scale
database management and quantitative research techniques a distinct advantage.
Deadline to submit applications (only for
funded projects)
Sunday 14th September 2014