USING ZEBRAFISH EMBRYOS TO IDENTIFY GENES THAT PROTECT AGAINST ATHEROSCLEROSIS

Outstanding graduate scientists are invited to apply for a PhD Studentship to study the biomechanical mechanisms that regulate atherosclerosis, a disease of arteries that can lead to angina, heart attack or stroke. Although mechanical forces are known to trigger atherosclerosis, the signalling pathways and transcriptional processes that are involved in this process are incompletely understood. The project will develop models in zebrafish to identify mechanosensitive genes that protect against atherosclerosis. It will identify novel disease-causing mechanisms and will also examine whether zebrafish can be used to replace murine models and reduce the number of mice used in atherosclerosis research. This exciting cross-disciplinary project is funded jointly by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs). It will involve collaboration with engineers, vascular biologists and mathematicians and will be carried out in the Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Science and the Bateson Centre for Lifecourse Biology.