Muscle tissue are found throughout our body and is responsible for mobility, metabolism, and breathing. One of the beautiful things about the skeletal muscle is that it has an inherent capacity to adapt and repair itself because of a small population of cells called satellite cells, which reside between the sarcolemma and basal lamina of their associated muscle fibre. These multipotent stem cells are crucial for muscle fibre maintenance, repair, and remodelling.
Muscle adaptation is often studied as a change in structure and function in response to an exercise stimulus. Despite the capacity of exercise to improve muscle mass, the skeletal muscle still shows degeneration with ageing (sarcopenia). Inactivity, bed rest, lack of gravity (experienced in space exploration) and disease are also responsible for loss in muscle mass. Sarcopenia affects nearly one-third of the elderly population and is associated with a high risk of physical frailty, falls, dependency, prolonged hospitalisation, and early death causing high personal, social, and economic burdens. Whilst therapeutic exercise is recommended as a non-pharmacological intervention to mitigate the rate of muscle wasting, its effect is limited. Thus, it remains important to offer a less cumbersome alternative treatment, including pharmacological approaches that induce muscle mass.
In our laboratory we use a variety of models to study the skeletal muscle tissue, but this project will focus on 3D-models of healthy and aged human skeletal muscle. To this effect this project intends to optimise the 3D-engineered human muscle tissue (myooid), to provide: (1) a standardised model to study biological mechanisms regulating muscle regeneration in ageing, (2) an in vitro exercise model of human contractile myotubes, (3) the necessary support for pre-clinical drug testing enabling measurements of muscle function.
The findings of this project will improve the understanding of the operating mechanisms causing and aggravating sarcopenia. We will particularly focus on understanding how muscle stem cells are engaged in maintenance of muscle tissue homeostasis and the factors that may alter this homeostasis.
Eligibility and How to Apply:
Please note eligibility requirement:
• Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non- UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above)
• Appropriate IELTS score, if required
For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/
Please note: All applications must include a covering letter (up to 1000 words maximum) including why you are interested in this PhD, a summary of the relevant experience you can bring to this project and of your understanding of this subject area with relevant references (beyond the information already provided in the advert). Applications that do not include the advert reference (e.g. SF22/…) will not be considered.
Deadline for applications: Ongoing
Start Date: 1st October and 1st March are the standard cohort start dates each year.
Northumbria University is committed to creating an inclusive culture where we take pride in, and value, the diversity of our doctoral students. We encourage and welcome applications from all members of the community. The University hold a bronze Athena Swan award in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality, we are a Disability Confident Employer, a member of the Race Equality Charter and are participating in the Stonewall Diversity Champion Programme. We also hold the HR Excellence in Research award for implementing the concordat supporting the career development of researchers.
Informal enquiries to Dr Davina C M Simoes ([Email Address Removed])
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