Prof D Davis, Dr Jamie Honeychurch
No more applications being accepted
Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Super-resolution microscopy allows us to study immune cell activity in unprecedented detail. Recently, Davis’s research team has used these microscopes to study the changing arrangements of molecules on the surface of immune cells as they survey other cells for signs of disease. Understanding the molecular mechanisms which underpin a strong and long-lived immune response will seed new ideas for immune therapies. In collaboration with Honeychurch’s lab, expert in immunotherapies and cancer biology, we will now compare how the surface organisation of human Natural Killer cells and T cells change upon activation and, in particular, study how a recently identified inhibitory receptor, TIGIT, impacts organisation of immune cell recognition. We will explore how the structure of T cell and NK cell surfaces impacts the thresholds at which immune responses are turned on and off, especially in the context of how TIGIT ligation impacts this. As well as understanding immune cell regulation in general, these data can help establish the importance of blocking TIGIT as a novel immunotherapy.
Dan Davis lab: http://www.davislab.manchester.ac.uk/
Dan Davis: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/Daniel.davis/
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.