Job Category
Teaching, Research & Scholarship
Employment Type
Full time
Location
Chelmsford
Faculty/Prof Service
Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine & Social Care
Ref No
2157
Closing Date
19/03/2023
About ARU:
We are ranked in the world's top 350 institutions in the 2022 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and we are a global university transforming lives through innovative, inclusive and entrepreneurial education and research. Our research institutes and four faculties bridge scientific, technical and creative fields. We deliver impactful research which tackles pressing issues and makes a real difference to our communities. Our academic excellence has been recognised by the UK's Higher Education funding bodies, with 16 of our research areas assessed as world-leading. In 2021, we were awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for our world-leading music therapy work.
Title: Is there a silver bullet to treat fibrosis? Investigating fibroblast heterogeneity in various fibrotic disorders
Background
Fibrosis is the cause of 45% of mortality in the Western world and is defined as the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix in response to injury. Treatment options are currently limited, with only two drugs available, both for the treatment of lung fibrosis yet fibrosis can affect any organ or system in the body.
Fibrosis is a result of dysregulated wound healing, driven by a key cell type called fibroblast which undergo transformation myofibroblasts upon injury that are responsible for the excessive production of extracellular matrix. Our previous work highlighted that fibroblasts isolated from various tissues, behaved differently when given the same drug treatment to stop myofibroblast transformation (Ilg et al., 2022; Lapthorn et al., 2022). We believe this is due heterogeneity which plays a key a role in the development of different fibrotic disorders and their response to drug treatment.
This project aims to understand what drives this heterogeneity within fibrotic disorders and the implications for diagnosis or treatment modalities, and unveil new directions for therapeutics. The other key objective will be to identify pathways or targets that are shared across the various fibrotic tissues to find a ‘silver bullet' to treat multiple or all types of fibrosis.
Funding Notes and Eligibility:
Applications are open to Home fee status students only. This successful applicant will receive a Vice Chancellor's Scholarship award which covers Home tuition fees and a UKRI equivalent minimum annual stipend for three years. The award is subject to the successful candidate meeting the studentship Terms and Conditions which can be found on our website alongside further information about the project: https: // aru.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research/vc-phd- scholarships
Applicants should have (or expect to achieve) a minimum upper second class undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a cognate discipline. A Master's degree in a relevant subject is desirable. Applicants must be prepared to study on a full-time basis, attending at our Chelmsford campus.
Application Deadline: 19th March 2023
How to apply:
Applications for a Vice Chancellor's PhD Scholarship are made through the application portal on our website: https: // aru.ac.uk/research/postgraduate- research/vc-phd-scholarships
We will review all applications after the submission deadline of 19th March. We will contact shortlisted applicants in the week commencing 3rd April. Interviews will be held between 17th April to 2nd May.
If you have any queries relating to the application process or the terms and conditions of the Scholarships, please email [email protected]
Documentation required
You will need the following documents available electronically to upload them to the application portal (we can accept files in pdf, jpeg or Word format):
1) Certificates and transcripts from your Bachelor and Master's degrees, (if applicable)
2) Your personal statement explaining your suitability for the project
3) Passport and visa, or evidence of EU Settlement Scheme (if applicable)
4) Curriculum Vitae
Please note the application form will ask you to upload a research proposal. You should upload your personal statement in this section, as proposals are not required for this scholarship.
Contact us:
General enquiries: [email protected] If you would like to discuss this research project, please contact [email protected]
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting welfare of our staff and students and expect all staff to share this commitment.
We value diversity at ARU and welcome applications from all sections of the community.