Edinburgh PhD: Higher-Order Social Structure and Disease Dynamics in Badgers

Edinburgh PhD: Higher-Order Social Structure and Disease Dynamics in Badgers

Research question and application timing

Do group-level social and spatial relationships explain badger population and disease observations better than pairwise connections? This four-year CASE project, led by Matthew Silk in Edinburgh's School of Biological Sciences, uses the Woodchester Park study and APHA collaboration to examine that question. The advertised deadline is 16 November 2026, with intended entry on 1 October 2027; funding is competitive.

The advertisement points to the School's project1769 eligibility checklist, whose body and checklist outcome remain unverified. Project-specific noon timing and the reference extension therefore retain advertisement-level provenance, not independent confirmation from that institutional page. Present acceptance of applications still needs confirmation. Recruitment cycle; School funding call.

The main practical checks are access to the required longitudinal records, how much fieldwork is expected, and which duties belong to the CASE partner. Do not interpret either the long history of the study or the word CASE as unrestricted data access or a guaranteed subsequent agency job.

Research question and doctoral work

Badgers live in territorial social groups, while group home ranges can overlap. A network built entirely from pairs may therefore miss aspects of collective organisation. The advertised work has four connected questions: how higher-order structure varies with population density and composition; when it improves explanation over pairwise representations; how robust that structure is to natural change and human-associated population disturbance; and whether alternative representations change the conclusions of preventive vaccination-management comparisons.

These are questions to evaluate, not established findings or instructions for implementing wildlife interventions.

The student would analyse longitudinal social, spatial and population observations, quantify group-level organisation, and compare explanatory approaches. A defensible contribution would show when extra structural complexity is justified and when a simpler representation is sufficient. That last sentence is an assessment of research quality, not a promised thesis output.

Data completeness, consistency of observation across years, and permission to link records are likely to determine feasibility.

The saved description does not establish the exact usable years, the balance between field and computational work, approved access, software licences, or an unrestricted right to publish sensitive partner data.

APHA's May 2026 account independently confirms fifty years of wildlife science at Woodchester Park and an interdisciplinary conservation and health-policy setting. The anniversary supports continuity of the research resource, but not the claim that every year is usable for every variable. APHA research-system context

University, field and doctoral training

The degree route advertised is Edinburgh's PhD in Biological Sciences with Internship, entered through EUCLID; APHA is a collaborating partner and Exeter is a research collaborator, not an inferred joint awarding university. The School's Institute of Ecology and Evolution provides a relevant population-biology and quantitative-research setting. School research assessment is a stronger subject-relevant signal here than an unsupported overall prestige claim. School application route; Institute disciplinary context

The School reports fifth in the UK and first in Scotland in THE research power based on REF 2021, announced in 2022: 94% of activity was in the top two categories and the research environment received the top category. These are historical School-level assessment results, not a current ranking of wildlife networks or proof of an individual supervisor's availability. Assessment year and scope

The saved EastBio structure places core training in years one and two, with research focus in years three and four. Mathematical and biological perspectives, research skills and professional development are explicit.

Current courses illustrate access to statistics, R and causal reasoning; the 2026/27 timetable is not a promise for 2027 entrants.

The project requires a three-month placement. Generic PIPS guidance specifies twelve weeks before the end of year three but separates CASE students for specific guidance; the CASE host, location, deliverables and expenses must be confirmed for this project. Training structure; Placement guidance and CASE distinction

The published 2027 programme confirms 48 months full-time at Edinburgh, a probationary first year, a thesis committee and annual progression review.

The first year includes 10-week and 10-month reports, with an oral presentation at the latter; later milestones include a year 2 poster, year 3 symposium talk and final thesis/viva. CASE-specific rules provide 3–18 months of thesis-related partner work and no separate additional PIPS.

The actual APHA placement agreement, location, duration and expenses still need confirmation. Programme progression; CASE-specific rules.

Supervisor, recent original studies and research conditions

Silk's institutional profile identifies him as a Royal Society University Research Fellow accepting PhD students. The Exeter BADGER collaboration independently places his group at Edinburgh's Institute of Ecology and Evolution and connects it with network analysis, demographic and behavioural research.

Other grants on his profile demonstrate activity, but cannot be treated as the budget for this studentship. Current institutional role; Independent collaboration context

Three distinct original studies include Silk. The scope of material reviewed for each is stated below; none of these descriptions implies full-paper reading.

1. Animal Social Network Structures Across the Fast-Slow Continuum

Ross S. Walker; Andy White; Xander O'Neill; Nina H. Fefferman; Matthew J. Silk. Ecology Letters 29(8): e70449. DOI: 10.1111/ele.70449. First online 2026-08-23; issue 2026-08.

The theoretical work links demographic replacement to emergent network structure, supporting checks of demographic alternatives rather than validating a wildlife intervention.

Silk is 5/5 with conceptualisation/final-manuscript contribution; Ross S. Walker is corresponding, not Silk.

Evidence reviewed: institutional and publisher abstracts, ordered authors, dates, contribution table and conclusion passage; not the full model text or supplements. Primary bibliography.

2. Environment-dependent benefits of sociality in Soay sheep

Erin R. Siracusa; Xavier Bal; Delphine De Moor; Gregory F. Albery; Ross Beattie; Sanjana Ravindran; Ellis Wiersma; Amelie Renwick Wilson; Josephine M. Pemberton; Daniel H. Nussey; Matthew J. Silk. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 293(2075): 20252821. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.2821. First online 2026-07-29; issue 2026-07 (institutional record).

The 37-year female Soay-sheep observational study relates sociality and survival in an environment-dependent way. It does not establish a causal badger effect.

Silk is 11/11 and co-corresponding with Siracusa in the institutional record, with conceptualisation, methodology, supervision and writing roles.

Evidence reviewed: institutional abstract, full byline, bibliography and contribution record; full-text interpretation was not established. Primary bibliography.

3. Modeling Disease Dynamics From Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture Data

Fabian R. Ketwaroo; Eleni Matechou; Matthew Silk; Richard Delahay. Environmetrics 36(1): e2888. DOI: 10.1002/env.2888. First online 2024-12-02; issue 2025-01.

The badger-system paper addresses incomplete spatial observations and uncertainty. It does not validate the proposed higher-order representation or supply collection/testing/intervention instructions.

Silk is 3/4, not corresponding; Fabian R. Ketwaroo is corresponding.

Evidence reviewed: Edinburgh and Kent abstracts and bibliography, plus a primary indexed PDF first-page author/acceptance/abstract passage; the complete introduction and body were not reviewed. Primary bibliography.

These papers establish a coherent connection between theory, long-term animal observations and statistical uncertainty. They do not reveal the actual doctoral supervision frequency, guaranteed support from every coauthor, or the specific records already released to this student. Ask what is already accessible at registration and what depends on later partner approval.

Funding, international eligibility and living costs

The supplied current funding notes specify four years of competitive support through either an EastBio BBSRC Doctoral Landscape Award or the University of Edinburgh Doctoral College Award. No separate application is needed for the latter consideration, and successful students enter the EastBio or associate-funded cohort. The School independently confirms four-year stipend and tuition support for Doctoral College scholars, plus project grants of £5,000 in each of years 1–3 and £1,000 in year 4.

These are research budgets, not personal living income; the two award routes cannot be added together. School award coverage

Chinese applicants are eligible for EastBio as international applicants. EastBio's FAQ states that successful international awardees have the international tuition top-up waived, resolving the apparent gap in the generic Home-fee-only description.

No more than 30% of annual EastBio-network awards may go to international students. This is a network allocation cap, not an individual award probability or a nationality exclusion; EDC's international allocation and tuition terms are unknown.

It does not automatically establish the rules for the alternative Edinburgh Doctoral College route.

EastBio rules exclude visa fees and the immigration health surcharge. EDC coverage is unknown.

A student requiring a visa must register full-time and live within commuting distance except during approved fieldwork and placement periods. International fee waiver and exclusions

UKRI's published 2026/27 minimum is £21,805 a year, with a £5,238 Home-fee benchmark. The 2027/28 rate was not established in the saved sources and cannot be guaranteed. Research involving animals does not qualify the student automatically for the separate veterinary-degree stipend. Current dated benchmark

The saved sources do not establish a verified current Edinburgh living-cost budget; indexed text is not treated as a budget fact in this assessment.

No savings margin is calculated. Build a budget from current accommodation quotations, food, utilities, transport, immigration and relocation charges.

Ask who pays for Woodchester travel, field accommodation and CASE relocation; these can materially change affordability.

Required conditions, useful advantages and career interpretation

EastBio requires an upper-second-class undergraduate degree or international equivalent; a Master's is not required. Applicants below that benchmark may still be assessed with a Master's or substantial relevant experience.

English proof is institution-dependent and may follow the initial application. Non-English academic documents require official English translations. No project-specific programming-language requirement, publication quota or IELTS score is inferred from the advertised tasks.

The 2027 degree programme lists IELTS Academic 6.5 overall and 6.0 in each element, without One Skill Retake; TOEFL before 21 January 2026 at 92 overall / 23 in each element, or from that date 4.5 overall / 4.5 in each element, without MyBest.

IELTS/TOEFL must be no more than two years old on 1 October 2027.

An English-taught degree requires the approved country/institution route and normally a degree no more than five years old for non-majority-English-country nationals; an arbitrary Chinese English-medium degree is not automatically sufficient. Published 2027 programme requirements.

Quantitative ecology, critical statistical reasoning and reproducible analysis are useful preparation inferred from the work, not additional admissions rules. Current eligibility and documents; Qualification alternatives and language timing

The mandatory package includes the EastBio form, transcripts, EDI survey response ID and two academic or professional references using the prescribed template; referees cannot be members of the project supervisory team.

The project directs applicants to upload the form in EUCLID's Research Proposal Section; this upload location does not itself establish a requirement for a separate self-designed proposal.

Apply to one EastBio project across the partnership.

The School's generic allowance of three projects does not override the more specific competition rule. Extra CVs are disregarded in formal EASTBIO assessment; providing one is not itself stated to invalidate an application. Specific one-project rule; Generic School route

Career directions

Relevant longer-term paths include quantitative ecology research, conservation evidence, agency analysis, environmental consulting and wider analytical roles. CIEEM documents these broad sectors, while APHA provides an example of policy-linked wildlife science. Neither source reports placement rates for this lab or guarantees overseas applicants an agency post.

Consulting may require local field, legal and identification expertise beyond a modelling thesis; transferable analytical skills should be demonstrated rather than assumed from the degree title. Professional career sectors; Public-sector research context

Next actions and unresolved decisions

Before applying: contact Silk about quantitative fit, released datasets and CASE duties. Confirm host language/equivalence and the exact noon timezone. Prepare the mandatory form and two template references early.

The supplied project evidence permits references up to two weeks after the midday Monday 16 November 2026 deadline, while the central EastBio guide requires references by 16 November.

The FAQ allows institution-specific extension but warns missing letters disadvantage shortlisting. Seek written confirmation; submitting everything by 16 November avoids relying on the conflict. Monitor EUCLID for missing-document requests. Central deadline; Host extension possibility

At interview: distinguish already approved access from planned linkage, clarify actual field duties and training, agree how added model complexity will be judged, and ask about publication clearance and supervisory availability.

The central timeline lists 22 February 2027 invitations, interviews in the week of 8 March, decisions in the week of 22 March, and 1 October start.

Previous-research presentation, interdisciplinary potential and programme/placement understanding are assessed.

CASE supervisors may nominate two candidates, which does not mean two funded places; at least 25% of programme awards are CASE. Selection stages and dates

Before accepting: obtain the named award, four-year duration, international fee waiver, actual 2027/28 stipend and research/fieldwork/placement expense policy in writing. Check housing and excluded immigration costs against the confirmed award.

The School can retain applications while allocating funding, and the project reserves amendment or withdrawal of scholarships; an application under consideration is not an award.

Evidence and Sources

Individual paper evidence scopes are stated above, and the exact institutional checklist body remains unread. These materials do not establish present availability, individual funding or released partner data.

Project, school and training

• EastBio 2027 recruitment

• EastBio application rules

• Edinburgh School funding 2027 intake

• EastBio selection timeline

• EastBio doctoral training

• EastBio placements guidance

• School funded-PhD EUCLID route

• School REF 2021 research assessment

• APHA Woodchester fifty-year anniversary 2026

• Edinburgh Institute for Ecology and Evolution

• 2027 doctoral programme and progression

• CASE-specific placement rules

• Exact university project navigation target; body inaccessible

Supervisors, studies and collaboration

• Matthew Silk current institutional profile

• Walker et al. (2026): social networks and life history

• Siracusa et al. (2026): sociality in Soay sheep

• Ketwaroo et al. (2025): spatial observation uncertainty

• BADGER collaboration: Matthew Silk

• Walker 2026 publisher byline and contribution details

• Ketwaroo institutional record: 2024 online publication, 2025 issue

Funding and careers

• EastBio current FAQ

• UKRI current stipend benchmark

• CIEEM ecology career sectors