British Heart Foundation PhD Studentship in Cardiovascular Genetics – Investigating Gene Regulatory Networks in Aortic Arch Artery Development

Interested in how our genes control the development of the heart? This PhD project will investigate how genes interact with each other to build a fully functioning cardiovascular system.

The aortic arch is an essential component of the cardiovascular system and, when interrupted in congenital heart disease, the patient requires urgent surgery. The genetics underlying normal development of the arch arteries is poorly understood, with a need to identify more genes that control this process. A patient with interrupted aortic arch and a deletion of PAX9 has been described. Pax9 is expressed in the pharyngeal endoderm and through using transgenic models we have identified that Pax9 is a critical gene for cardiovascular development. In a screen for Pax9 target genes, we identified Gbx2 as downregulated in Pax9-null pharyngeal tissue, and Pax9 activates Gbx2 in a luciferase assay. This PhD project therefore aims to identify a genetic interaction between Pax9 and Gbx2 within the pharyngeal endoderm, and to elucidate a mechanism as to how these two genes interact to control aortic arch artery development. This study will result in mechanistic insight into how cardiovascular developmental disorders in humans may occur.
The successful candidate will be trained in a variety of molecular biology techniques, imaging systems, histology, immunohistochemistry, and tissue culture assays. The student will be based at the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University.

Eligibility Criteria: You must have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 Honours degree in biomedicine, physiology, biology or a related area. A further qualification such as an MSc or MRes is advantageous.

This award is available to UK/EU applicants only.

How to apply

You must apply through the University’s online postgraduate application system - http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/. To do this please ‘Create a new account’.
Only mandatory fields need to be completed. However, you will need to include the following information:
• insert the programme code 8300F in the programme of study section
• select ‘PhD in the Faculty of Medical Sciences – Genetic Medicine ’ as the programme of study
• insert the studentship code HG061 in the studentship/partnership reference field
• attach a covering letter and CV. The covering letter must state the title of the studentship, quote the studentship reference code HG061 and state how your interests and experience relate to the project
• attach degree transcripts and certificates and, if English is not your first language, a copy of your English language qualifications.