Identifying gene targets to enhance spinal cord repair at Imperial College London on FindAPhD.com

This project is no longer listed on FindAPhD.com and may not be available.

Click here to search FindAPhD.com for PhD studentship opportunities

Dr Vicki Metzis, Prof Simone Di Giovanni, Dr J Vaquerizas No more applications being accepted Funded PhD Project (UK Students Only)

London United Kingdom Bioinformatics Cell Biology Data Analysis Developmental Biology Genetics Genomics Molecular Biology Molecular Genetics

MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS), Imperial College London

About the Project

Unlike other organs, the adult spinal cord displays a limited capacity to regenerate following injury. Recent studies, however, suggest that regeneration can be prompted following injury to the spinal cord and can lead to functional improvements. This raises the question of which factors promote regeneration, and whether gene therapy delivery systems could be employed to optimise the repair process.

In this multidisciplinary project, the candidate will work at the cutting edge of regenerative medicine, stem cells and single cell genomics, to promote axonal repair following injury to the adult spinal cord. The candidate will develop expertise in the manipulation of embryonic stem cells and their application to the repair of damaged spinal circuitry in established animal model systems. Using single cell approaches, the candidate will apply computational biology methodologies to identify the underlying gene regulatory networks that operate during axonal regeneration and identify candidates for use in gene therapy.

The project provides an exciting opportunity to develop hands-on expertise spanning the manipulation of embryonic stem cells to their translational potential in the repair of the spinal cord.

Candidates interested in stem cells, gene regulatory networks, and the application of high throughput sequencing technologies to regenerative medicine, are strongly encouraged to apply.

To apply for this project, please visit the link below;

https://lms.mrc.ac.uk/study-here/phd-studentships/lms-3-5yr-studentships/

Funding Notes

The funding for this studentship include full (Home rate) tuition fees for 3.5 years as well as a generous stipend amounting to £21,000pa paid directly to the student for the same duration.
Please note that we are only able to accept applications from Home Fee rate students, which includes students with settled status or pre-settled status covering the duration of the whole studentship (until April 2026).

References

De Virgiliis, F., Hutson, T. H., Palmisano, I., Amachree, S., Miao, J., Zhou, L., Todorova, R., Thompson, R., Danzi, M. C., Lemmon, V. P., Bixby, J. L., Wittig, I., Shah, A. M., & Di Giovanni, S. (2020). Enriched conditioning expands the regenerative ability of sensory neurons after spinal cord injury via neuronal intrinsic redox signaling. Nature Communications, 11(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20179-z
Hutson, T. H., & Di Giovanni, S. (2019). The translational landscape in spinal cord injury: focus on neuroplasticity and regeneration. Nature Reviews Neurology, 15(12), 732–745. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-019-0280-3
Ing-Simmons, E., Vaid, R., Bing, X. Y., Levine, M., Mannervik, M., & Vaquerizas, J. M. (2021). Independence of chromatin conformation and gene regulation during Drosophila dorsoventral patterning. Nature Genetics, 53(4), 487–499. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-021-00799-x
Metzis, V., Steinhauser, S., Pakanavicius, E., Gouti, M., Stamataki, D., Ivanovitch, K., Watson, T., Rayon, T., Mousavy Gharavy, S. N., Lovell-Badge, R., Luscombe, N. M., & Briscoe, J. (2018). Nervous System Regionalization Entails Axial Allocation before Neural Differentiation. Cell, 175(4), 1105-1118.e17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.09.040