NCAS PhD Opportunities

Position Summary

The Department of Infectious Diseases is seeking to appoint a highly motivated PhD candidate within the National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship (NCAS). This PhD position is funded through the NCAS RADAR One Health Centre of Research Excellence. The PhD will contribute to a high-impact research program focused on Surgical Antimicrobial Stewardship, with the overarching aim of improving antibiotic prescribing and patient outcomes in surgical settings. Under supervision, the candidate will undertake original doctoral research applying machine learning and clinical data science methods to complex hospital datasets, including electronic health records. The project will span the end-to-end clinical data science lifecycle, from navigating and harmonising real-world healthcare data to the development, validation, and interpretation of predictive models relevant to surgical infections and antimicrobial use. This work will be conducted in close collaboration with the University of Melbourne Centre for Digital Transformation in Health.

The Department of Infectious Diseases, based at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (the Doherty Institute), is seeking to appoint a highly motivated PhD candidate within the National Centre for Antimicrobial Stewardship (NCAS). This PhD position is funded through the NCAS RADAR One Health Centre of Research Excellence, led by Professor Karin Thursky.

The PhD will contribute to a high-impact research program focused on Surgical Antimicrobial Stewardship, with the overarching aim of improving antibiotic prescribing and patient outcomes in surgical settings. Under supervision, the candidate will undertake original doctoral research applying machine learning and clinical data science methods to complex hospital datasets, including electronic health records.

The project will span the end-to-end clinical data science lifecycle, from navigating and harmonising real-world healthcare data to the development, validation, and interpretation of predictive models relevant to surgical infections and antimicrobial use. This work will be conducted in close collaboration with the University of Melbourne Centre for Digital Transformation in Health, providing access to expertise in health data infrastructure, advanced analytics, and digital health implementation. The candidate will work with clinicians, data scientists, and digital health researchers to ensure modelling approaches are robust, clinically meaningful, and translatable to antimicrobial stewardship practice.

As part of the NCAS RADAR One Health Centre of Research Excellence, the PhD candidate will collaborate with other PhD candidates funded under the RADAR program across complementary research streams, including antimicrobial stewardship in hospitals, aged care and community settings, veterinary sciences, human factors, and implementation science. This provides a unique opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral research aligned with a One Health approach to antimicrobial resistance.

This position offers the opportunity to contribute to nationally significant antimicrobial stewardship research while developing advanced research skills at the intersection of machine learning, clinical informatics, and digital health within a leading Australian research environment.

How to apply?

If you are interested in this PhD project, read the full position description attached below, then send an email to Dr Courtney Ierano courtney.ierano@unimelb.edu.au explaining why you would like to be considered for this opportunity and how the project fits with your experience and interests.

Make sure to attach your CV and transcripts to the email.

Only enquiries sent via email will be considered.

Applications Close: Monday 27th April 2026