Molecular mapping of osteoarthritis

We are looking for an ambitious and highly motivated postgraduate candidate to undertake an exciting PhD project funded by Versus Arthritis. The studentship is fully-funded for 4 years with an enhanced stipend starting at £21,309.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic musculoskeletal disorder that causes pain and disability as a result of damage to the joint tissues; it affects 8.75 million people in the UK alone. Osteoarthritis is a complex, multifactorial disease of the entire joint and the affected tissues, including cartilage, subchondral bone, synovium and fat pad are all likely to contribute to disease onset and progression. However, the timing and location of the key disease-causing molecular changes are not fully known. This PhD will employ state-of-the-art deep tissue analysis strategies with high spatial resolution to identify the important molecular events associated with osteoarthritis development in situ. For the first time, we will use a technique known as Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) to build a molecular map of the disease. The key disease-causing candidates will be selected for further analysis and functional testing in mesenchymal stem/stromal cells. The ultimate aim is to identify new therapeutic targets, disease biomarkers and indicators for patient stratification.

You will be based in Prof Paul Genever’s Laboratory (https://www.geneverlab.info/) working closely with Dr Tony Larson (Head of Metabolomics and Proteomics) in the Biology Department at the University of York. The studentship will be co-supervised by Prof Cosimo De Bari and Dr Anke Roelofs at the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen (https://www.abdn.ac.uk/ims/) and you will spend time working at both sites. Techniques include cell biology, tissue preparation and analysis, CRISPR/Cas9, proteomics, bioinformatics, MALDI-imaging, DSP and molecular profiling.