Fully funded PhD Scholarship
Fully funded PhD Scholarship available in the Integrated Biosciences Research Group, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, UK
The thriving research community in the School of Clinical Dentistry at the University of Sheffield works collaboratively to push boundaries in biomedical research. The most recent Research Assessment Exercise places us fourth in the UK and establishes us as one of the top performing departments in the University. We currently have a fully funded (at UK/EU fee level with a competitive stipend) PhD scholarship available to study one of the areas outlined below. Applicants must hold at least a 2.1 degree or above in a relevant subject. To apply, please send a full CV, degree transcripts and a cover letter clearly stating which of the projects listed below you are applying for to Mrs Sue Spriggs (s.spriggs@sheffield.ac.uk) by 5 pm on 26th July.
‘By the skin of your teeth’: in vitro studies of cell-cell communication in the oral mucosa.
Cell-cell communication is crucial to normal and disease processes in all parts of the body, including the oral cavity, where epithelial cells and fibroblasts are known to communicate in a bidirectional manner. We hypothesise that there exists a signature gene set that defines the coculture of epithelial cells and fibroblasts and that this is altered by the flow of cell culture medium, the tissue origin of the cells and the substrate they are cultured on. This project will add significantly to the literature on cellcell communication in the oral cavity and identify key genes that define this communication which may represent novel therapeutic targets themselves or genes that may indicate the effectiveness of skin or oral pharmaceutical agents.
For further details on this project, please contact Dr Simon Whawell (s.whawell@sheffield.ac.uk)
Mechanical strain imposed by invading tumours stimulates pro-metastatic signalling in the tumour microenvironment.
G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) agonists promote tumour growth and metastasis, at least in part by promoting the activation of neighbouring cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), stimulating pro-metastatic stromaltumour interactions. The presence of activated CAFs, particularly those displaying features of myofibroblast transdifferentiation, is a strong indicator of poor prognosis. The mechanisms leading to the acquisition of a myofibroblastic phenotype by CAFs, however, remain unclear.
The phenotype of fibroblasts is determined in part by physical factors such as mechanical stress; previous reports have provided ample evidence that GPCR agonists are able to provoke myofibroblast transdifferentiation in fibroblasts subjected to mechanical strain. In this project, we propose to test the hypothesis that peptide agonists are able to induce myofibroblast transdifferentiation of stromal fibroblasts under mechanical strain induced by an invasive tumour.
For further details on this project, please contact Dr Dan Lambert (d.w.lambert@sheffield.ac.uk)
The Development and Validation of In Vitro Models of Human Salivary Glands
Salivary glands are essential but histologically complex structures and very much understudied due to a lack of suitable laboratory tools. For example, it is not possible at present to fully investigate salivary gland development and regeneration or the pathogenesis of a number of associated disorders, such as tumour development, Sjogren’s syndrome and viral-associated infections.
The aims of this project are, therefore, to establish a number of in vitro models of human salivary glands, which will allow us to fully investigate salivary gland disease processes and also further investigate the potential for regeneration of damaged or diseased glands.
For further details on this project, please contact Dr Lynne Bingle (l.bingle@sheffield.ac.uk)
The use of dental pulp stem cell-derived Schwann cells in nerve regeneration
It has been shown that local delivery of Schwann cells into a conduit significantly enhances nerve regeneration. However, use of primary Schwann cells is unrealistic as it requires a donor nerve; a more feasible option is the use of adult stem cells. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) provide a readily accessible source of stem cells and possess the ability todevelop into developmentally-diverse phenotypes. They share many properties with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells which have also been shown to enhance nerve regeneration. It is thought that DPSC-derived Schwann cells seeded onto conduits may promote enhanced nerve regeneration compared to an autologous graft. The aims of this project are i) To evaluate the dental pulp as a novel source of stem cells for differentiation into a Schwann cell lineage; ii) to determine whether Schwann cells derived from DPSCs are suitable to be seeded onto artificial nerve conduits and iii) to establish whether conduits seeded with these cells are able to enhance nerve regeneration.
For further details on this project, please contact Prof Fiona Boissonade (f.boissonade@sheffield.ac.uk)
