Ageing in Prison Longitudinal Study (A-PLUS): health and frailty trajectories of older people in prison

Project overview

The Justice Health Research Program (JHRP) in the School of Population Health, University of New South Wales is undertaking the Ageing in Prison Longitudinal Study (A-PLUS).

This study is funded by the Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and has three aims:

1. determine the prevalence of frailty and key indicators of age-related health status of older adults in prison compared to older adults in the general population,           
2. examine the extent of age-related health decline (or improvement) that occurs for older adults in prison over time compared to older people in the general population,   
3.  identify whether there are distinct subgroups of older people in prison in terms of frailty trajectories, based on a range of individual health factors and social determinants as well as broader systemic factors.

The study will run until 2029 and plans to recruit a PhD student to work on the project. Refer to the JHRP, School of Population Health webpage to learn more about the research group and the project.

Research topics

The successful candidate will be involved in undertaking research among the ageing prison and community (comparison group) cohorts to be recruited for the purpose of the study. Research topics will include, but not limited to, determining prevalence of age-related health condition and frailty; describing frailty and health measures; observing frailty change over time; and analysing subgroups of frailty trajectories and its predictors.

Supervisory Team

• Primary Supervisor: Professor Tony Butler
• Joint/Secondary Supervisors: Dr Jane Hwang and Dr Amanuel Kidane Hagos

Funding and support

This PhD opportunity covers UNSW Tuition Fee Scholarship (TFS) and annual stipend of AUD $39,206 (2026 rate, indexed 2% annually). The successful candidate will also receive necessary support from a multidisciplinary and collaborative research team in the JHRP.

Candidate requirements

This PhD opportunity is open to international and domestic applicants. Prospective candidates are required to demonstrate exceptional potential for undertaking higher degree research and meet UNSW requirements for Higher Degree Research. PhD admission requires at least an appropriate 3-year Bachelor degree plus an Honours year, or a 4-year Bachelor degree from UNSW with Honours 1 or upper 2nd class (H1/H2.1), or equivalence. Please find a detailed outline of requirements here.

Timeline and application deadline

The scholarship will be offered for 3.5 years with expected commencement date of September 2026 (or earlier). Application deadline is 31 December 2025 11:59PM AEST.

How to apply

Interested applicants can send expression of interest to the research project’s shared mailbox (APLUS@unsw.edu.au) with a subject line ‘Expression of Interest for a PhD Opportunity’. The expression of interest should include:

1. Complete Research Plan Form

2. CV (max 3 pages)

3. Academic transcripts

A panel of experts from the research project will review the expression of interest and identify the most suitable candidate through series of review processes. The successful applicant is expected to apply for admission and Tuition Fee Scholarship through the HDR application process | UNSW Sydney.

Contact

For further inquiries about the scholarship opportunity please contact APLUS@unsw.edu.au