Catia Nicodemo is a Professor of Health Economics at Brunel Business School (BBS), Professor at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford and Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford. Co-Lead NIHR ARC London, Theeme 2 Prevention and Early Intervention. Her research focuses on healthcare management, health inequality, and policy evaluation, exploring the economic dimensions of healthcare delivery and the social determinants of health. Catia’s work addresses both the demand and supply sides of health systems, analyzing issues such as healthcare workforce distribution, primary care efficiency, and the impacts of socioeconomic factors on health outcomes. Catia has led and collaborated on major projects funded by prestigious organizations, including the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the ESRC. Her work has contributed valuable insights into policies for reducing emergency hospitalizations, improving primary care services, and enhancing resource allocation in the NHS. At Oxford, she has played a pivotal role in research projects examining the effects of England's Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, which aims to increase healthcare access and quality through expanded primary care roles. In addition to her research, Catia has held various academic roles across institutions, including the University of Oxford, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and University Pompeu Fabra. She is an active contributor to the scientific community, serving as an associate editor for several journals and regularly reviewing grants for major funding bodies. Her expertise is widely recognized, and her research has been featured in prominent media outlets.
Brunel University of London invites applications for a fully funded, three-year, full-time PhD studentship awarded through the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) London Doctoral Awards. The studentship is co-funded by Brunel and NIHR ARC London and sits within ARC London Theme 2: Prevention and Early Intervention. The student will be registered in Brunel Business School and will start on 1 October 2027.
This is a competitive award. Funding of the successful applicant will be subject to NIHR London ARC award panel confirmation. NIHR ARC London is a large consrotium with several universities across London (UCL, KIng's College, Queen Mary, LSE, Queen Mary, SouthBank London, among others)
The project
English social care has relied on migrant workers, but overseas recruitment of care workers closed to new applicants on 22 July 2025, with in-country switching allowed only until July 2028. International recruits had already fallen from 105,000 in 2023/24 to 50,000 in 2024/25. Migrant workers are the most diverse part of the workforce, so the policy changes not just how many people deliver care, but who cares for whom. This PhD asks how ending overseas recruitment is affecting the capacity and quality of social care, and whether the system can deliver culturally appropriate care to older people.
The project uses mixed methods. The quantitative strand uses a difference-in-differences design with Skills for Care workforce data, CQC registrations and ratings, and local authority returns. It exploits differences in how much providers and areas relied on international recruits before 2025 to estimate effects on vacancies, turnover, provider closures, quality and unmet need, and maps workforce composition against Census 2021 data on older people by religion, ethnicity and language. The qualitative strand interviews migrant care workers, employers, commissioners, older people and family carers in 2–3 local authorities in the ARC London area. It explores retention, sponsorship dependency and exploitation risk, and how cultural and religious matching (language, gender of carer, faith, food, end of life) shapes everyday care. Bringing the two strands together leads to a cost-consequence analysis of policy options and recommendations for commissioners ahead of the 2028 review.
Supervision
The student will be supervised by a cross-institution team that combines quantitative and qualitative expertise in migration, health and care: Professor Catia Nicodemo (Brunel, first supervisor), Professor Oyinlola Oyebode (Queen Mary University of London) and Dr Joan Madia (Kings' College, London).
What the studentship offers
- A tax-free stipend at the UKRI London rate for three years (£23,805 in 2026/27; the 2027/28 rate will be set by UKRI), plus tuition fees at the UKRI Home rate.
- Full-time study from 1 October 2027 to 30 September 2030.
- Opportunities to gain experience across ARC London, including patient and public involvement and engagement, implementation and knowledge mobilisation, and research capacity development.
NIHR Career Development Award
This Doctoral award will be an NIHR Career Development Award. ARC London Career Development Award holders will have regular networking opportunities and will be members of the NIHR Academy (benefits of Academy membership: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/career-development/nihr-academy/nihr-academy-member-benefits).There will be regular opportunities for award holders to apply to the ARC London Doctoral Award holders' Training and Development support funds for activities such as:
- expanding networks and forming new collaborations
- training courses
- training in, or development of, skills in research inclusion
- knowledge mobilisation
- implementation science
- any other development of skills or experience that would benefit future applications and longer-term research or practitioner academic career plans.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be eligible for Home (UK) tuition fees under UKRI criteria. This includes UK nationals and those with settled or pre-settled status, indefinite leave to remain or another qualifying immigration status. International fee-paying applicants are not eligible.
- A first or upper second-class UK honours degree (or international equivalent) in economics, health economics, public health, social policy, statistics, social sciences or a related discipline. A Master's degree (Merit or above) in a relevant subject is desirable.
- Quantitative training (for example econometrics or applied statistics, with experience in Stata, R or Python) and an interest in learning and using qualitative methods.
- An interest in migration, the health and social care workforce, ageing or health inequalities.
- Brunel's English language requirements for doctoral study, where applicable.
- Availability to study full time from 1 October 2027. Part-time study is not available for this award.
This studentship supports the NIHR's aim of widening participation in research. Applications are particularly welcome from professions and specialties that are under-represented in NIHR research, including social care practitioners, nurses, allied health professionals and public health professionals. Applications are also welcome from people in under-represented groups, including under-represented ethnic groups. Equality, diversity and inclusion data will be collected anonymously after the award is confirmed.
How to apply
Informal enquiries are encouraged before you apply. Please contact Professor Catia Nicodemo (catia.nicodemo@brunel.ac.uk).
To apply, email the following as one PDF to catia.nicodemo@brunel.ac.uk, with the subject line "ARC London PhD - Who will care?":
- A CV (maximum 2 pages).
- A cover letter (maximum 2 pages) explaining your motivation, how your skills and experience fit the project, and any professional experience in health or social care.
- Degree certificates and transcripts (undergraduate and, if applicable, Master's).
- Names and contact details of two referees, at least one of them academic. References will be taken up before interview.
- Evidence of English language proficiency, if applicable.
Shortlisted candidates may also be asked to submit a formal application through Brunel's postgraduate research application system.
Closing date: 31 January 2027 (23:59 UK time)
Interviews: February to March 2027, completed by the end of March 2027
Start date: 1 October 2027
This is a competitive award. Funding of the successful applicant will be subject to NIHR London ARC award panel confirmation.
Data sharing: by applying, you agree that your application may be shared with the NIHR ARC London awarding panel. Your data will be stored securely for the five-year period of the ARC London award plus six years after the award ends.