PhD studentship-cartilage regeneration

I am looking for students who intend to pursue a PhD and are interested in regenerative medicine. My group is interested in characterising the molecular mechanisms driving the degradation of the articular cartilage in osteoarthritis (OA). OA affects 1 in 10 adults and it is characterised by progressive degeneration of the articular cartilage and abnormal remodelling of the subchondral bone. Currently no treatment is available, apart from analgesia and invasive surgery in the most severe cases.

The understanding of OA pathogenetic mechanisms is crucial to find new therapies. Preliminary findings showed that cells of the nasal cartilage have a higher regenerative potential that the ones articular cartilage. We aim to dissect the molecular mechanism which can explain the differences between the two cell types to be able to exploit them to find a cure for OA. In particular, we will focus on understanding how the Wnt signalling is involved in driving these differences.

I am looking for a prospective PhD student to work on this project. The project would be done in collaboration with the A star institute in Singapore, and the student will be required to do half of the project at the University of Surrey (Guildford, UK) and half at the A star institute in Singapore. The candidate would acquire expertise in cell signalling, cell phenotypic characterisation and omics analysis.

Funds for the studentship have not been secured yet, as selection of the best candidates for the scheme is required as part of the application. If you are interested in applying together for this opportunity, please send me your CV at g.nalesso@surrey.ac.uk. I will contact the strongest candidates for a chat, to explain more about the project and the scheme.