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PhD Studentship: Application of advanced engineering imaging and image based modeling approaches to

Employer
Global Academy Jobs
Location
United Kingdom
Closing date
Jun 30, 2017

Job Details

The lung is one of the most important organs in any mammalian body. The incidence of acute bronchitis in adults in the Europe is high; there are between 30 and 50 per 1000 people per year. This means that approximately 16.5M adult cases are seen each year in primary care across Europe. The role of lymphatics as a cellular pathway in the immune response to such infections while also maintaining fluid balance has been long recognized. The lymphatics also restore fluid balance in recovery from acute injury due to trauma, surgery or exposure to respiratory agents. However, very few studies actually deal with identifying the lymphatic structures in the lung and predicting how these structures function under different immune challenges.

In this project we will develop an image-based mathematical model of the lung lymphatic fluid flow and tissue drainage and use this model to assess how the structure influences the immune response. To do this we use multimodal imaging of X-ray computed tomography to observe 3D structure in combination with immunohistochemical methods to map of the rat lung lymphatic and vascular systems. This will allow us to identify the key structural features that change with the physiological adaptation of the lymphatic system in response to inflammation and most crucially enable future experiments in silico, thus contributing to the reduction of the use of animals in research. Having developed the imaging and modelling work stream we will use images from challenged and unchallenged individuals to then test in silico the hypothesis that functional capacity of the lymphatic network responds dynamically to challenge with, for example, allergens, infectious agents, toxins or lung damaging chemicals, and thus contributes to repair and fluid clearance and the movement of infectious or toxic agents into the body. This will help identify the type and location of relevant changes associated with allergen challenge, informing our understanding of lymphatic physiology.

This work will be carried out in collaboration with DSTL who will provide co-supervision of the PhD student and materials necessary for conducting the study.

This PhD project will be funded as part of the UK governments new Industrial Strategy. The scholarship will cover full UK fees and a stipend of between £16k and £18k per year depending on academic qualifications.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Tiina Roose of Bioengineering Sciences Research Group, Email: t.roose@soton.ac.uk

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Global Academy Jobs works with over 250 universities worldwide to promote academic mobility and international research collaboration. Global problems need international solutions. Our jobs board and emails reach the academics and researchers who can help.

"The globalisation of higher education continues apace, driving in turn the ongoing development of the global knowledge economy, striving for solutions to the world’s problems and educating a next generation of leaders and contributors."

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