Wellcome Trust Doctoral Training Centre in Public Health, Economics and Decision Science (PHEDS): Assessing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and prevention strategies that reduce noncommunicable disease burden and health inequity

With ever scarcer resources for public health policies and programmes, high-quality scientific evidence on the cost-effectiveness and long-term benefits of alternative public health intervention options will become increasingly important for future decision-making. To our knowledge, PHEDS is one of just a handful of Doctoral Training Centres dedicated to Public Health Economics and Decision Science in the world. Wellcome Trust investment will allow us to grow, focus and strengthen ScHARR’s doctoral training in this area, broadening its scientific remit from health behaviours to also include research into the cost-effectiveness of policy options that address the social determinants of health (e.g. economic conditions, housing, employment) to reduce NCD and tackle health inequalities. Through the synergy of several cohorts of PhD researchers conducting cutting-edge research into these challenges at the same time with expert supervision, the programme aims to substantially increase the momentum of scientific discovery. Equipped with 4 years of experience in interdisciplinary collaborative working environments and with strong analytic skills, our graduates will be excellently placed to forge influential careers as leaders in academia and governmental and non-governmental organisations promoting evidence-based decisions about resource allocation in public health and tackling disease burden in the UK and beyond.