Transcriptional regulation of intestinal stem cell ageing

Declining intestinal function is an important contributor to poor health in ageing. The epithelium that lines the intestine is constantly turned over throughout adult life, as cells are lost from the surface and replaced by the proliferation of stem cells. These adult tissue stem cells must be tightly regulated as loss of homeostasis can lead to tissue failure and risk of disease.

This project will characterize the importance of transcriptional regulators in epithelial maintenance and age-related loss of homeostasis. The student will use the intestinal stem cells of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a simple model system and employ a range of advanced genetic, genomic, molecular and microscopy approaches to characterize key regulators of gene expression and chromatin states. A laboratory rotation and ongoing collaboration with the second supervisor will allow the student to extend their findings to mammalian intestinal stem cells.

The student will join a friendly and collaborative team in a specially equipped Drosophila research lab and have access to state-of-the-art facilities for microscopy and genomics. We share lab space with other Drosophila groups with whom we have regular joint group meetings providing lots of opportunities for students to discuss their work, learn about other projects and develop collaborations.  

Informal enquiries may be made to david.p.doupe@durham.ac.uk

HOW TO APPLY

Applications should be made by emailing bbsrcdtp@liverpool.ac.uk with a CV and a covering letter, including whatever additional information you feel is pertinent to your application; you may wish to indicate, for example, why you are particularly interested in the selected project/s and at the selected University. Applications not meeting these criteria will be rejected. We will also require electronic copies of your degree certificates and transcripts.

In addition to the CV and covering letter, please email a completed copy of the Application Details Form (Word document) to bbsrcdtp@liverpool.ac.uk, noting the additional details that are required for your application which are listed in this form. A blank copy of this form can be found at: https://www.nld-dtp.org.uk/how-apply.