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Prof Sir Philip Cohen
Applications accepted all year round
About the Project
Background
The goal of my research is to elucidate the signal transduction networks that become activated during infection by bacteria and viruses, and to discover how they trigger the production of inflammatory mediators and interferons to combat and destroy these pathogens. Understanding how these innate immune signalling networks operate is of great medical importance, not only because it may lead to the development of new drugs to fight infection more effectively by enhancing the power of these pathways, but also because the uncontrolled production of inflammatory mediators, and the failure to resolve inflammation once it has serve its purpose, are major causes of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. These include arthritis, asthma, colitis, lupus, psoriasis, lupus and sepsis. Drugs that suppress these networks may therefore be beneficial in the treatment of a number of diseases.
My laboratory only accepts students that join the Unit’s 4 year programme and initially carry out a 4.5 month “rotation’ project in my laboratory during the first year of their Ph.D. The major thesis project is chosen after the student has completed their rotation projects.
A number of families have recently been identified with an inherited form of Crohn’s disease, which is caused by mutations on two related protein kinases. These protein kinases have never been investigated previously and hence their substrates, the mechanisms by which they are regulated or why their mutation causes Crohn’s disease are unknown.
The initial goal of the project will be to identify their binding partners that may either be their substrates or their regulators. The individual domains of these proteins will be immobilized on insoluble supports and used to capture interacting proteins from the cell extracts. In another approach immunoprecipitating antibodies will be exploited to identify binding partners. A further goal will be to develop the first assays for these protein kinases in order to understand the molecular basis for their substrate specificity and so help to identify their physiological substrates. Further work will depend on the outcome of these experiments and the ingenuity of the Ph.D. student who decides to work on this problem
The goal of my research is to elucidate the signal transduction networks that become activated during infection by bacteria and viruses, and to discover how they trigger the production of inflammatory mediators and interferons to combat and destroy these pathogens. Understanding how these innate immune signalling networks operate is of great medical importance, not only because it may lead to the development of new drugs to fight infection more effectively by enhancing the power of these pathways, but also because the uncontrolled production of inflammatory mediators, and the failure to resolve inflammation once it has serve its purpose, are major causes of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. These include arthritis, asthma, colitis, lupus, psoriasis, lupus and sepsis. Drugs that suppress these networks may therefore be beneficial in the treatment of a number of diseases.
My laboratory only accepts students that join the Unit’s 4 year programme and initially carry out a 4.5 month “rotation’ project in my laboratory during the first year of their Ph.D. The major thesis project is chosen after the student has completed their rotation projects.
A number of families have recently been identified with an inherited form of Crohn’s disease, which is caused by mutations on two related protein kinases. These protein kinases have never been investigated previously and hence their substrates, the mechanisms by which they are regulated or why their mutation causes Crohn’s disease are unknown.
The initial goal of the project will be to identify their binding partners that may either be their substrates or their regulators. The individual domains of these proteins will be immobilized on insoluble supports and used to capture interacting proteins from the cell extracts. In another approach immunoprecipitating antibodies will be exploited to identify binding partners. A further goal will be to develop the first assays for these protein kinases in order to understand the molecular basis for their substrate specificity and so help to identify their physiological substrates. Further work will depend on the outcome of these experiments and the ingenuity of the Ph.D. student who decides to work on this problem
Funding Notes
We offer 3.5-year studentships in which you would join a particular lab in the Unit. However, we strongly encourage prospective students to become part of the 4-year PhD programme in which you carry out rotation projects in two labs within the Unit (see listing in University of Dundee PhD projects).
We ask potential applicants to note that the eligibility criteria for these studentships relating to academic qualifications are similar to those of the UK Research Councils. However, we welcome all applications from UK citizens and EU nationals. The studentships carry a tax-free stipend of £17, 500 per annum
We ask potential applicants to note that the eligibility criteria for these studentships relating to academic qualifications are similar to those of the UK Research Councils. However, we welcome all applications from UK citizens and EU nationals. The studentships carry a tax-free stipend of £17, 500 per annum
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