About the Project
New types of microscopy allow us to visualise immune cell interactions with unprecedented detail. Recently, Davis’s research team has used super resolution microscopes to study the changing arrangements of molecules on the surface of immune cells as they survey other cells for signs of disease. Understanding the molecular mechanisms which underpin a strong and long-lived immune response will seed new ideas for immune therapies. In collaboration with Douglas Dyer’s lab, expert in cell migration, we will study how immune cell protrusions initiate the contacts with antigen presenting cells or diseased target cells. We will explore how the topology of T cell and NK cell surfaces impacts the thresholds at which immune responses are turned on and off. As well as understanding immune cell regulation in general, these data can help establish ideas for novel immune-based medicines.
Dan Davis lab: http://www.davislab.manchester.ac.uk/
Dan Davis: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/Daniel.davis/
Douglas Dyer: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/douglas.dyer.html
Entry Requirements
Applicants must have obtained or be about to obtain a First or Upper Second class UK honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate area of science, engineering or technology.
How to Apply
To be considered for this project you MUST submit a formal online application form - full details on how to apply can be found on the MRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) website www.manchester.ac.uk/mrcdtpstudentships
Applicants interested in this project should make direct contact with the Primary Supervisor to arrange to discuss the project further as soon as possible.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities. The full Equality, diversity and inclusion statement can be found on the website https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/research/apply/equality-diversity-inclusion/
References
1. Kennedy P.R., Barthen C., Pitkeathly W.T.E., Williamson D.J., Cumming J., Stacey K.B., Hilton H.G., Carrington M., Parham P., Davis D.M.,
Genetic diversity impacts the nanoscale membrane organisation and signalling of Natural Killer cell receptors, Science Signaling, 12, 612, (2019).
2. Smith S.L., Kennedy P.R….Eyre S. Davis D.M., Diversity of peripheral blood human NK cells identified by single cell RNA sequencing, Blood
Advances, 4, 1388–1406, (2020).
3. Ambrose A.R., Hazime K.S., Worboys, J.D., Niembro-Vivancoa O., Davis D.M., Synaptic secretion from Human
Natural Killer cells is diverse and includes supramolecular attack particles, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, 117, 23717-23720, (2020).
4. Dyer, D. P. (2020) Understanding the mechanisms that facilitate specificity, not redundancy, of chemokine mediated leukocyte recruitment. Immunology. 290, 21292.
5. Dyer, D. P., Medina-Ruiz, L., Bartolini, R., Schuette, F., Hughes, C. E., Pallas, K., Vidler, F., Macleod, M. K. L., Kelly, C. J., Lee, K. M., Hansell, C. A. H., and Graham, G. J. (2019) Chemokine Receptor Redundancy and Specificity Are Context Dependent. Immunity. 50, 378–389.e5.
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