Studentship Projects
You can find some of our current DPhil projects advertised below.
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Male Drosophila accessory gland - Clive Wilson
Cardiac Science
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CELL PHYSIOLOGY
Elucidating the Molecular Machinery of Intracellular Insulin Handling
Prof Robin Klemm, Dr Max Ruby
Application Deadline: Friday, July 10, 2020
Insulin is secreted from pancreatic β-cells in response to alterations in blood glucose levels. Insulin binding to its receptor triggers a cascade of phosphorylation events to regulate metabolism and growth by influencing enzyme activity and gene transcription. Additionally insulin may induce receptor internalization, particularly in hepatocytes which clear the majority of insulin, and the insulin receptor complex can continue to signal in the early endosome. The insulin receptor has also shown to bind DNA in the nucleus to directly influence gene expression. Thus insulin stimulated signalling may take place at the plasma membrane, within endosomes or in the nucleus. The factors regulating the uptake and intracellular fate of insulin are incompletely understood.
This project is funded for four years by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BBSRC.
Prof K Buckler, Prof J Pandit
Application Deadline: No more applications being accepted
Fully funded 3-year National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia (NIAA) PhD studentship to investigate the novel interactions of anaesthetics on oxygen sensitive TASK K+ channels derived from rat chemoreceptor cells (carotid body).
Structure and function of key ABC Transporters in health and disease
Prof L Carpenter, A/Prof de Wet
Application Deadline: No more applications being accepted
Human ABC transporters are a family 52 integral membrane proteins that transport diverse molecules across cell membranes. Mutations in ABC transporters causes a range of diseases, including diabetes (ABCC8 and ABCC9), cystic fibrosis (ABCC7, CFTR) and blindness (ABCA4).
Development & cell biology
Application Deadline: No more applications being accepted
Primary cilia are ubiquitous organelles fundamental for vision, hearing, smell perception, breathing, excretion, reproduction and development and their disruption or loss leads to several diseases (ciliopathies).
metabolism & endocrinology
Elucidating the Molecular Machinery of Intracellular Insulin Handling
Prof Robin Klemm, Dr Max Ruby
Application Deadline: Friday, July 10, 2020
Insulin is secreted from pancreatic β-cells in response to alterations in blood glucose levels. Insulin binding to its receptor triggers a cascade of phosphorylation events to regulate metabolism and growth by influencing enzyme activity and gene transcription. Additionally insulin may induce receptor internalization, particularly in hepatocytes which clear the majority of insulin, and the insulin receptor complex can continue to signal in the early endosome. The insulin receptor has also shown to bind DNA in the nucleus to directly influence gene expression. Thus insulin stimulated signalling may take place at the plasma membrane, within endosomes or in the nucleus. The factors regulating the uptake and intracellular fate of insulin are incompletely understood.
This project is funded for four years by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BBSRC.
NEUROSCIENCE
Targeting TFEB to correct autophagy/lysosomal deficits in Parkinson’s disease
Application Deadline: No more applications being accepted
Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder but disease-modifying therapies are still lacking. Genetics and pathology strongly implicate lysosomal and autophagy dysfunction in Parkinson’s, making TFEB, a master-regulator of lysosomal biogenesis, an attractive target as a potential therapeutic. Importantly, activation or overexpression of TFEB prevents neurodegeneration and rescues Parkinson’s related autophagy/lysosome deficits. Despite increasing interest in this target, the pathways involved in TFEB function in Parkinson’s remain poorly understood, particularly in human neurons. This project will assess the effect of Parkinson’s mutations on TFEB activity and regulation to better understand the molecular pathways of neurodegenerative diseases.
Investigating the adaptive capabilities of the brain following asymmetric hearing loss
Prof Andrew King, Dr Fernando Nodal
Application Deadline: No more applications being accepted
This 3 year PhD project, which is funded by Action on Hearing Loss and the Wellcome Trust, will investigate the neural basis by which the brain is able to adapt to asymmetric hearing loss and extend this work to more natural listening conditions than those typically used in the laboratory.
Effects of fasting-induced torpor on sleep and behaviour in mice
Prof V Vyazovskiy, Prof D Bannerman, Dr S Peirson
Application Deadline: No more applications being accepted
This project will investigate the effects of food restriction on torpor in mice, the effects of torpor on subsequent behavioural performance and sleep, and will develop a standardized approach to detect the occurrence of torpor during food restriction.