Alzheimer Scotland-funded Psychology Masters by Research (MScR) Chronic pain, pain prescribing and cognitive decline: Are women at greater risk?

Chronic pain and the opioid medications often used to treat it have both been linked to faster cognitive decline and higher dementia risk. Compared to men, women are more likely to have chronic pain, often experience pain for longer periods, and are more likely to be prescribed opioids for pain management, often at higher doses and for longer durations. Women also experience more side effects from these medications. At the same time, around two-thirds of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease—the most common type of dementia—are women. Despite this, most research has not examined whether pain and its treatments affect women and men differently.

This Alzheimer Scotland-funded Psychology Masters by Research (MScR) project will combine world-leading cohort data and linked electronic health record data from half a million UK Biobank participants with data spanning nearly 20 years to examine how chronic pain and opioid prescribing are associated with cognitive ageing trajectories. Using longitudinal modelling approaches, this project will investigate whether chronic pain and opioid prescribing:

  1. contribute to differences in rates of cognitive decline and dementia risk between men and women
  2. disproportionately harm women’s cognitive health over time more than men’s

The supervisory team for this Psychology MScR project includes Dr Chloe Fawns-Ritchie (Psychology), Dr Carole Torsney (Biomedical Sciences) and Dr Lucy Stirland (Old Age Psychiatry). Therefore, the successful applicant will be embedded within a unique and diverse multidisciplinary research environment spanning psychology, neuroscience, and old age psychiatry, offering an exceptional training setting.

Award 

The award provides tuition fees at the Home fee rate of £13,700 for the academic year 2026/27 and a stipend at the UKRI 2025/26 rate of £20,780 for one year. The award also provides £2,000 for research associated costs.

This award cannot be held concurrently with fully-funded scholarships but can be held with partially-funded scholarships.

Criteria

Applicants must be of outstanding academic merit and research potential. Candidates must have, or be expected to obtain, a UK 2:1 honours degree or higher at undergraduate level or the international equivalent.

Other factors, such as financial status, are not taking into account.

Applicants must provide proof that they meet the English language entry requirements for MScR Psychology.

The successful applicant is expected to begin their programme in September 2026 with a later start date available in October 2026 if required.

Applying

Applicants should submit the following documents to pplspgoffice@ed.ac.uk by Friday 5th June 2026: 
Copies of all your degree certificates and academic transcripts

If the original documents are not in English, official English translations of the certificates and transcripts are also required.

  • Two-page CV
  • 500-word personal statement outlining why you are interested in this Psychology MScR project, why you are a strong candidate for this programme and project, and how it would prepare you for your future career aspirations 
  • 500-word summary of relevant knowledge and training, highlighting the skills and experience that have prepared you for this project
  • 2 academic references. Where academic is not available, professional references may be accepted.
  • Evidence you meet the English language requirements. This may be submitted at a later date if not yet available.

Please include “Alzheimer Scotland MScR” in your email title to ensure your application is received correctly. Any questions about the application process and the required documentation, please contact the PPLS Postgraduate Office at pplspgoffice@ed.ac.uk. 

For informal enquiries relating to the project, please contact the primary supervisor, Dr Chloe Fawns-Ritchie (c.fawns-ritchie@ed.ac.uk). Please note, applications should not be sent directly to Dr Fawns-Ritchie. Only applications sent to the PPLS Postgraduate Office by the deadline will be considered.   

Selection procedure 

Members of the supervisory team and/or other members of a scholarship committee will rank and shortlist eligible applications in terms of the academic quality of the applicant and their suitability to this programme and project. Applicants who are shortlisted will be invited for an interview with the supervisory team and/or other members of a scholarship committee. Interviewers will rank interviewees based on their academic quality and their suitability to this programme and project. The highest ranked applicant will be offered the scholarship. Should the initial applicant decline, the award will cascade to the next highest ranked applicant. 

Indicative timeline

Application deadline: Friday 5th June 2026
Interviews: Late June
Outcome: The committee aims to inform the successful applicant by Friday 3rd July 2026

This article was published on