Musculoskeletal Ageing and Inflammation Research

We are seeking talented, motivated students with a passion for research in musculoskeletal ageing and chronic inflammatory diseases (e.g., osteoarthritis and sarcopenia) to join the Musculoskeletal Ageing and Inflammation team led by Prof Simon Jones https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/inflammation-ageing/jones-simon.aspx

Applicants should have a first or upper second-class degree in a relevant scientific discipline, and who are self-funded or have typically applied for, or secured funding for their studies from their government, employer or associated charitable organisations.

RESEARCH IN MUSCULOSKELETAL AGEING AND INFLAMMATION

The team is part of the Ageing and Frailty Group within the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing at the University of Birmingham. We are interested in identifying the molecular mechanisms that mediate pathological inflammation with ageing and chronic inflammatory diseases.

Broadly speaking we have three main areas of interest:

• Inflammatory mechanisms that drive joint pathology and joint pain in osteoarthritis;

• Understanding how obesity and adipose tissue cross-talk exacerbates sarcopenia;

• Understanding how obesity exacerbates inflammatory joint pathology in osteoarthritis;

We have ongoing projects examining:

• synovial fibroblast pain pathotypes and the relationship to joint pain in osteoarthritis.

• long non-coding RNAs in mediating inflammatory responses;

• extracellular vesicles in regulating muscle mass and function, and pathological joint inflammation

We combine imaging, novel in vitro, and ex vivo tissue models using primary human patient cells, and computational biology of large omics datasets (e.g., RNAseq), and perform studies with RNAi to identify and validate targets and pathways.

PhD projects, using these approaches, answering translationally relevant research questions are available to self-funded or scholarship-funded graduates interested in joining our team.

APPLICATION ROUTES

Self-funded or scholarship-funded graduates interested in joining IVB can select one of 3 different routes for undertaking a PhD in the field of Inflammation and Ageing.

Applicants with research experience and/or Master’s degree should apply directly to the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing for either a 3 or 4 year full-time PhD – https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/research/med/inflammation-ageing.aspx. This route requires applicants to submit a drafted research proposal.

Applicants seeking additional research experience or who have yet to complete a Master’s degree should apply to the 4 year Integrated Doctoral Training Programme in Life Sciences for Health, which combined a MRes and PhD – https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/pgr/idtp/index.aspx.

Applicants will need to submit the following documentation during the application process.

• Detailed CV, including your nationality and country of birth;

• Covering letter highlighting your research experience/capabilities and why you wish to undertake a PhD in the team;

• Names and addresses of two referees;

• Copies of your degree certificates with transcripts written in English;

• Evidence of your proficiency in the English language, if applicable.

• Evidence of scholarship application/funding or independent funding.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

University of Birmingham offers pre-sessional English Language courses through the Birmingham International Academy – https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/international/bia/presessional/index.aspx

For additional information on postgraduate studying at University of Birmingham please click - https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/study/postgraduate

For additional information on research at the College of Medical and Dental Sciences please click – https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/mds/index.aspx

For additional information on research in the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing please click – https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/inflammation-ageing/index.aspx

For additional information on research within the Ageing and Frailty Group please click - https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/inflammation-ageing/index.aspx