About the Project
Secondary metastases account for 90% of cancer-related deaths, and 30-40% of cancers are preventable through dietary and lifestyle choices. Oesophageal cancer is the 6th most common cause of cancer-related death in the UK (CRUK, 2014) and has a poor survival rate (12%). Physical activity (PA) is defined as the contraction of SkM resulting in a quantifiable expenditure of energy (Caspersen et al., 1985) and is emerging as a palliative therapy in cancer patients (Mishra et al., 2012). Animal studies demonstrate dose-dependent protective effects of exercise against early tumour development (Goh et al., 2012). Regular PA significantly reduces oesophageal cancer risk (Moore et al., 2016). High- and moderate-intensity exercise exerts differential effects on inflammatory processes and immune cell mobilisation (Gleeson et al., 2011). However, little is known about the mechanistic effects of PA on tumour development and metastasis.
Conventional 2D cell culture provides limited insight into the physiological tumour response to PA. Designing experiments to systematically evaluate this is problematic in cancer patients, logistically and ethically: by contrast, tissue engineering circumvents these issues.
This project will involve the novel application in cancer research of a well-established tissue engineered 3D human skeletal muscle model (Martin et al., 2013) by co-culture with carcinogen-induced oesophageal epithelial cells cultured as 3D spheroids to study PA effects on tumour growth, metastasis and adaptive anti-cancer immune responses. This may illuminate the molecular basis of PA effects on oesophageal cancer growth and metastasis, providing scope to design exercise programmes as a form of adjunctive chemotherapy.
Applications are invited from ambitious, self-motivated candidates to undertake a PhD in the field of musculoskeletal biology in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University, who have at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree or equivalent in a biological or engineering related subject.
Loughborough University is one of the country’s leading university’s (Rank 7th in the Time Higher Education) and is world renowned for its research in sports related subjects (1st overall for sports related subjects in the QS world university rankings 2017).
Applicants will be joining a well-established research team working within the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, interested in the development of physiologically relevant models of skeletal muscle. Using Tissue Engineering applications, this research team has published extensively in the field of musculoskeletal biology.
Applications are invited from self-funded students who have an interest in research in the following areas:
• Muscle – nerve interactions
• Musculoskeletal disease
• Models of exercise in tissue engineered muscle
• Tissue engineered joints on a chip
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ssehs/staff/mark-lewis/
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ssehs/staff/mhairi-morris/
Entry Requirements
-Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 honours degree (or equivalent) in sport and exercise science, human physiology, human biology, biochemistry or a related subject.
- All students must also meet the minimum English Language requirements: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/international/applicants/english/
- A relevant master's degree and / or experience in one or more of the following will be an advantage: Human biology, exercise physiology, biochemistry, immunology