Masters by Research (MRes) Studentship: Sustainable Gene Deletion in Primary Airway Cells for Respiratory Research

The study of primary human cells in the laboratory has provided unprecedented advances in our understanding of basic airway cell biology and respiratory disease. Procedures to isolate cells are invasive with risk to the individual, especially in people with severe asthma. Moreover, adequate numbers of cells are rarely collected. We developed a method to prevent cell senescence in primary human epithelial cells while maintaining the ability to differentiate by genetically engineering cells. The aims of the project are to move this work forward i.e. i) develop an inducible genetic manipulation system that can be turned on/off, ii) characterise the transcriptome of engineered cells and iii) initiate proof of concept CRISPR-Cas9 DNA editing in these cells to silence selected disease susceptibility genes for functional studies.

This project will combine the use of molecular/cell biology and bioinformatics providing comprehensive skills and training to students embarking on a career in biomedical research. This project will be supervised by Dr Ian Sayers and co-supervised by Dr Cynthia Bosquillon.

Applicants should have at least a 2i degree classification in Biochemistry, Biology or a related discipline. This MRes studentship is available for a period of 1 year starting on 1st October 2016 and is funded for student fees. Students will need to provide their own living costs. Please note that certain eligibility conditions apply, and therefore, this studentship is only available to UK/EU citizens ordinarily resident in the UK.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr Ian Sayers. Email: ian.sayers@nottingham.ac.uk

Applications, with a detailed CV and the names and addresses of 2 referees, should be sent to Dr Ian Sayers, Division of Respiratory Medicine, University of Nottingham, D Floor, South Block, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, NG7 2UH.