Dr A Saunders, Dr K Mace, Prof Sheena Cruickshank, Dr Bianca Price
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Immune suppressive pathways are critical, particularly at barrier sites of the body, to prevent immune responses occurring against harmless stimuli, such as commensal microbes. Suppressive pathways are also required to switch off immune responses once a pathogen, or inflammatory stimulus has been cleared. If suppressive pathways are dysregulated, then chronic inflammation occurs, resulting in inflammatory disease.
Inflammation is a necessary part of wound healing that is required to remove debris and microbes, and promote tissue remodelling. Inflammation has to be resolved to allow the wound tissue to remodel, and failure to resolve the inflammation leads to chronic wounds.
Chronic wounds are a huge problem for healthcare systems worldwide and are the leading cause of amputations for diabetics, as well as causing pain, suffering and a poor quality of life. However, even healthy wound healing is not fully understood. Chronic wounds are usually infected, and are arrested in an inflammatory state, so we hypothesize that they are unable to heal due to the dysfunction of immune suppressive pathways.
Objectives of the project:
- Profile potential immune suppressive molecules in wound healing
- Determine the role of immune suppressive molecules in wound healing
- Investigate the impact of immune suppressive molecules on the microbiota in wound healing
- Determine the role of the microbiota in regulating immune suppressive molecules in wound healing
This exciting multi-disciplinary project will utilize human wound samples and murine models of wound healing to identify immune suppressive pathways that are required for healthy wound healing, and are dysregulated in chronic wounds. Methods will include cutting edge multi-parameter flow cytometry, cytometric bead arrays, immunohistochemistry, RNAseq, QPCR, DGGE and 16S rRNA sequencing.
This important project will revolutionize how we think about chronic wounds and will lead to the identification of targets for novel treatment strategies.
The successful student will join the vibrant research environment in the Saunders lab at the Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, at the University of Manchester. Expert supervision will be provided by a multidisciplinary team consisting of Amy Saunders, Kimberly Mace, Sheena Cruikshank and Bianca Price. The successful student will have access to the cutting edge core facilities at the University of Manchester and will have the chance to present their work at international conferences.
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/amy.saunders.html
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/kimberly.mace.html
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/Sheena.Cruickshank.html
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/bianca.price.html
Entry requirements:
Applications are invited from UK/EU nationals only. Applicants must have obtained, or be about to obtain, at least an upper second class honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.
Funding Notes
This project is to be funded under the MRC Doctoral Training Partnership. If you are interested in this project, please make direct contact with the Principal Supervisor to arrange to discuss the project further as soon as possible. You MUST also submit an online application form - full details on how to apply can be found on the MRC DTP website www.manchester.ac.uk/mrcdtpstudentships
As an equal opportunities institution we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.
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