3.5-year PhD in Regenerative Medicine: Restoration of urinary function in spinal cord injury

We are offering an exciting 3.5-year PhD studentship for candidates interested in exploring novel therapies for spinal cord injury. The studentship project will evaluate the effectiveness of combined therapy - olfactory ensheathing cell transplant expressing chondroitinase ABC combined with bladder nerve electrical stimulation – in restoring urinary function in spinal cord injury, using an experimental rodent model. The successful candidate will benefit from a highly multidisciplinary supervisory team and research training environment in the Bristol Medical School, with opportunities to work with scientist from the School of Physiology, Royal Veterinary College and University College London.

Trauma to the spinal cord causes permanent paralysis and incontinence in humans. The urine incontinence has major impacts on patient’s mental health and their social life. They perceive it as their biggest daily challenge, far above being unable to walk. Deprived of voluntary control of urination, patients need to use medical devices to empty their bladder, leading to infections and antibiotic resistance, from which they can die.

This project will test our hypothesis that the combination of intraspinally transplanted olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) expressing chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) and repeated electrical stimulation of the sacral bladder nerves (via an implanted neuroprosthesis) will produce clinically meaningful increases in the restoration of urinary control in chronic contusive spinal cord injuries in rats. We predict that multiple daily electrical stimulation of sacral nerves will have a ‘training’ effect on bladder neuronal circuits that can be exploited during nerve regeneration to restore urinary function. In the last phase of the PhD we propose to offer autologous transplantation of cOEC-ChABC to five dogs to establish feasibility of this approach in a clinical environment.

The PhD student will be based within the Bristol Medical School at the University of Bristol. The candidate will start in January 2021 and be supervised by a team consisting of Dr Liang-Fong Wong (Bristol Medical School), Dr Nicolas Granger (Royal Veterinary College), Prof Thelma Lovick (School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Bristol) and Dr Henry Lancashire (University College London. This exciting, multi-disciplinary team will bring together expertise and training opportunities from clinical veterinarians, physiologists, biomedical physicists and molecular/cell biologists.

Candidate requirements:
Applications are sought from high performing individuals who have, or are expected to obtain, a 2.1 or higher degree (or equivalent) in a biological or related life sciences discipline. Possession of a relevant Masters degree, a veterinary degree or research experience would be advantageous, but is not expected.

How to apply:
Please make an online application for this project at http://www.bris.ac.uk/pg-howtoapply. Please select Faculty of Health Sciences and Translation Health PhD on the Programme Choice page. You will be prompted to enter details of the studentship in the Funding and Research Details sections of the form. Please note a research proposal is NOT required at application stage.

For general enquiries linked to the online application process, please email [Email Address Removed]

Further information:
For informal enquiries or further information about this PhD project, please contact Dr Liang-Fong Wong ([Email Address Removed]) or Dr Nicolas Granger ([Email Address Removed]).

Closing Date: 5pm, 9th October 2020