Development of a novel 3D gut-microbiota model for the assessment of absorption and metabolism of health supplements and therapeutic drugs

The gut epithelium is a complex setting of intestinal cells and epithelial cells filled with transporters, enzymes and channels; these cells are then populated by bacteria (microbiota) that help with the metabolism of nutrients and transport into the blood stream. This co-existence of bacteria and gut epithelial is paramount for human health. There are around 3,000,000 bacteria in the human gut of around 1000 different species. The type and numbers can vary with age, sex, state and location in the world. With their unique metabolism, bacteria can help digest nutrients and keep us free from diseases.

The interest in studying the effect of the microbiota on the gut is a growing area as it has many implications in human health. The aim of this project is to develop a working 3D human gut microbiota model for the assessment of different nutrients and therapeutic drugs.

You will:
• Develop cell biology skills in the cell culture and toxicology area,
• Develop analytical chemistry skills for the detection of small molecules,

You will be crossing the interface between chemistry, biology and toxicology. You will gain biological and chemical skills and scientific papers. The results of this PhD project have the potential of reducing the burden on governmental health systems by providing information about the metabolism of small molecules in the gut micorbiota.

Please quoteISTM2019_01 when applying.