Dr J Hudson
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Background
To cope with organism growth and additional circulatory requirements the heart undergoes many changes during postnatal development to facilitate increased functionality and efficiency (Mills & Hudson, APL Bioengineering, 2019). While we know some of the processes driving these changes, we still do not understand the biological mechanisms governing these functional changes. Understanding the underlying mechanisms controlling this maturation phase in the heart is important for a number of reasons: 1) many organs increase their function after birth and these mechanisms may be more broadly applicable to other organs, 2) to enable us to produce better and more mature engineered heart tissues for regenerative medicine and drug screening applications, and 3) targeting these processes may help facilitate improved heart function in patients with heart failure. In our lab we have recently discovered a range of different pathways, metabolic processes and conditions governing maturation (Mills et al., PNAS, 2017, Quaife-Ryan et al., Circulation, 2017 and Mills et al., Cell Stem Cell, 2019). The PhD project will build on these findings and explore the role of key controllers of maturation in human cardiac organoids.
Aim
Deciphering the molecular mechanisms of cardiac maturation in human cardiac organoids
Approach
The supervisory team will discuss with the PhD student which key molecular candidate(s) to centre the PhD project around based on our current data. We have a number of targets covering metabolism, cell signalling and extracellular matrix components to be investigated, and which are pursued will also be dependent on the interests of the student and lab. The student will then use stem cell and organoid culture techniques to create human cardiac organoids which will be used as a model system to study the effect of different molecular pathways and uncover mechanisms of action for the maturation process. The different techniques employed will cover a wide-range of different molecular biology, imaging and functional assays developed and routinely used in our lab (see previous publications).
Outcome
The goal will be to describe in detail the mechanisms of how the candidate controls maturation and to also test this final mechanism in vivo if applicable.
For more information on this research group: https://www.qimrberghofer.edu.au/lab/organoid-research/
Funding Notes
QIMR Berghofer is offering a limited number of PhD Scholarships for top applicants. For details, eligibility criteria and to apply: http://www.qimrberghofer.edu.au/students/university-students/phd-scholarships/
Do not apply for the QIMR Berghofer scholarship without making contact with the supervisor first. Provide an academic CV and transcripts in your introduction email.
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