18 and Up — PhD Pathway 

PhD Pathway

18 and Up

Do your PhD inside a landmark study of Australian mental health and wellbeing. 18 and Up is a new national longitudinal cohort, built alongside the established 45 and Up Study. We’re recruiting HDR PhD candidates to join a national network of primary supervisors across NSW, South Australia and Victoria, co-supervised by Adjunct Professor Justine Gatt (Sax Institute / UNSW), and we have a dedicated top-up scholarship for 4–5 places.

~300,000

Combined participants targeted: 18 & Up plus the 45 and Up Study cohorts 

6 Universities | 3 States

Partner universities across NSW, South Australia and Victoria

4-5

Top up scholarships available

THE OPPORTUNITY 

Get in on the ground floor of a national cohort study 

Data collection for 18 and Up begins in Q4 2026. 

The 18 and Up Study is funded by an NHMRC grant with a mental health focus as its central objective. It sits alongside the 45 and Up Study — one of Australia’s most widely used cohorts for cancer and chronic disease research — giving doctoral candidates access to a rare combination of an established, mature dataset and a brand-new one built with their own research questions in mind. 

Every candidate will need to be supervised by a Primary Supervisor drawn from the study’s national network (listed below). Every candidate will also be co-supervised by Adjunct Professor Justine Gatt, Scientific Director of the 18 and Up study at the Sax Institute, who has research expertise in mental wellbeing, resilience, and neuroscience. Projects are hosted at whichever university the primary supervisor and candidate are enrolled at, and students are encouraged to have some presence at the Sax Institute in parallel (particularly for NSW students). Supervision is cross-institutional by design. 

FUNDING – TOP UP SCHOLARSHIP

An 18 and Up Study top-up scholarship

Data collection for 18 and Up begins in Q4 2026. 

Awarded in addition to your primary Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship, to eligible candidates onboarding into the study. Offered once you’ve been offered a place and confirmed by your supervisory team. Limited to four to five candidates across the whole network. 

4-5 PLACES AVAILABLE

How it works: the recruitment pathway, start to finish

Six steps, from scoping a project to onboarding into the study’s data and governance framework.

Scope your topic

Scope a PhD topic against a prospective primary supervisor’s team and expertise, from the network below.

Check dates and email your EOI

Check the RTP round and closing-date timeline for that supervisor’s university, then email Professor Justine Gatt your expression of interest at least two months prior — your CV, academic transcripts, and your topic and supervisor of interest.

Meet with Professor Gatt

Meet with Professor Gatt to discuss your EOI, pending an initial eligibility check.

Scope the project

Professor Gatt scopes the project together with your selected primary supervisor.

Formal RTP application

Submit your formal HDR admission and RTP scholarship application, with a supervisor letter of support, by the deadline.

Outcome and onboarding

Pending approval of your RTP (or other stipend support): Sax top-up offer and agreement, enrolment, and induction into the study’s data and governance framework.

THE NETWORK

Meet the primary supervisory network

Potential primary supervisors by state. Find the expertise closest to your project, then get in touch with Professor Gatt to scope a co-supervised topic. 

NSW

South Australia

Victoria

FUNDING AND TIMING

RTP scholarship rounds vary by university

Domestic Research Training Program (RTP) rounds only. There is no single 18 and Up study deadline.

18 and Up Study · Doctoral Training Pipeline — Sax Institute. RTP rounds are set independently by each university. Verify current dates with your relevant Graduate Research School before applying.