Mechanical and inflammatory control of pancreatic acinar cell identity
Supervisors:
Dr Catherine Berry, University of Glasgow
Dr Carsten Schulte, University of Strathclyde
Dr Matthew Walker, University of Glasgow
Project Summary:
How does a cell hold onto its identity, and what makes it let go? This PhD tackles that fundamental question in the pancreas, where specialised acinar cells can lose their identity in response to cues from their surroundings. Using cutting-edge engineered biomaterials, tunable "designer" hydrogels and electrospun fibre scaffolds, you will recreate the physical and inflammatory signals of living tissue and dissect how they control cell fate, reading out the results at single-cell resolution.
You will join a vibrant, interdisciplinary team spanning cell biology, biomaterials engineering and immunology across the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, and complete an industrial placement with our CASE partner PeptiMatrix, a pioneer in defined, animal-free biomaterials.
You will graduate with a rare breadth of skills: primary cell culture, molecular biology, advanced imaging, single-cell sequencing, bioinformatics, plus hydrogel fabrication, electrospinning and biomaterials characterisation, and first-hand experience of research in a commercial biotech environment. This unusual combination of wet-lab, engineering, computational and industrial training will equip you for a career in academia, the fast-growing biomaterials and biotech sector, or data-intensive bioscience. If you are excited by working across disciplines to answer a fundamental question in cell biology, we would love to hear from you.