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Institution: University of Southampton
United Kingdom
Retrieved : 2018-03-13 Expired
Description :

Lead Institute / Faculty: Faculty of Medicine (CES) / National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Southampton Biomedical Research Centre

Main Supervisor: Professor Jane Lucas

Other members of the supervisory team: 

Dr Raymond N Allan (Biological Sciences); Dr David W Cleary (CES)

Duration of the award: 3years full time

Project description: 

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous disease that is characterised by abnormal ciliary function. Failure of mucociliary clearance due to PCD is associated with long-term bacterial colonisation of the airways, causing localised inflammation and airway damage.Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi)is the most frequently isolated pathogen from the airways of PCD patients, infecting 40-80% annually. Our recently published work, comparing NTHi infection of healthy and PCD epithelia has revealed that PCD airway cells are more susceptible to biofilm infection.Biofilms are a significant problem in clinical settings, primarily through their increased tolerance towards antibiotic treatment and propensity to develop antimicrobial resistance (AMR). There is therefore a pressing need to improve our understanding of the role of NTHi biofilms in PCD to help identify new treatment strategies that will improve patient outcomes.

The main aim of this studentship will be to characterise the response of primary respiratory epithelial cells from patients with PCD to colonisation with NTHi biofilms. To achieve this, the candidate will utilise an advanced co-culture system and state-of-the-art ‘omics’ approaches to provide a detailed overview of the genes and proteins that play an important role in this host-pathogen interaction. This model will also provide the opportunity to characterise this interaction using a range of different microscopy techniques and investigate the potential of novel compounds for the treatment of NTHi biofilms formed on PCD epithelium.

The candidate will be joining an interdisciplinary research team that will provide training in cell culture, biofilm-modelling, microscopy techniques, ‘omics’-based approaches, and bioinformatics as required. They will also benefit from the opportunity to collaborate with, and draw on the experience of, researchers from the National Biofilm Innovation Centre and the Network for Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Prevention strategic group based at University of Southampton.

The studentship will be supported within the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at Southampton General Hospital. The NIHR BRC is hosted through a partnership of the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton, providing an excellent opportunity to deliver research which is of benefit to patients ‘from bench to bedside’. As a NIHR BRC Student the doctoral researcher will have access to a number of benefits in addition to the University of Southampton and Faculty of Medicine opportunities; training support includes a mentorship scheme, a multidisciplinary research environment aimed to foster collaborations amongst future research leaders, opportunity to apply for funding to attend courses and conferences, opportunities to attend national NIHR training events.There will also be the opportunity to spend up to three months in another institution to gain skills not available in Southampton through application for Mobility Funding.

Candidate requirements:

Candidates should have, or be expected to achieve, a first class honours or 2:1 degree qualification (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline (cell biology, microbiology, molecular biology, biomedical sciences, biochemistry). A relevant Master’s degree and/or experience in microbiology or bioinformatics would be desirable but not a prerequisite. 

Please contact:  Professor Jane Lucas jlucas1@soton.ac.uk

Person Specification:  See below


Funding information: NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre and Wessex Medical Research.


Administrative contact and how to apply:

Please complete the University's online application form, which you can find at 

https://studentrecords.soton.ac.uk/BNNRPROD/bzsksrch.P_Login?pos=7201&majr=7201&term=201819

You should enter Professor Jane Lucas as your proposed supervisor. To support your application provide an academic CV (including contact details of two referees), official academic transcripts and a personal statement (outlining your suitability for the studentship, what you hope to achieve from the PhD and your research experience to date).

Informal enquiries relating to the project or candidate suitability should be directed to Professor Jane Lucas (jlucas1@soton.ac.uk)


Closing Date: 06 Apr 2018
Post Type: PhD Studentship (Funded)





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