Advanced 3D cell models for assessing vascular function in vitro

About the Project

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe. Disorders of the blood vessels, such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, aneurysm or stroke are responsible for substantial health and social care costs and the mechanisms that lead to these disorders are still incompletely understood, hence there is an urgent need to create laboratory models of these disorders that can help drive the understanding of disease mechanisms and the design of new and effective therapeutics.

Blood vessels are comprised of three layers; a monolayer of endothelial cells (ECs) termed the intima which lines the inner surface of all blood vessels, a thicker medial layer comprised of smooth muscle cells (SMC) and an outer layer of connective tissue and fibroblasts termed the adventitia. These layers all need to work in harmony with each other, with extensive cross-communication between EC and SMC, in order to work efficiently. The majority of research to date on mechanisms underpinning EC and SMC dysfunction have used in vitro 2D models, where the cells are grown in a monolayer in isolation.

As these do not allow for communication between cell types and their growth conditions are not comparable to the in vivo structural environment, translation of findings into clinical understanding can be problematic. Therefore, the aim of this project is to design and evaluate advanced 3D cell models, incorporating communication between different cell types, to generate an easy to use model that mimics the in vivo scenario more closely.

How to apply

Formal applications can be submitted via the University of Bradford web site; applicants will need to register an account, select 'Postgraduate Research' as the course and then use the keywords 'biomedical science'. Applicants should then specify the project title in the 'Research Proposal' section.

Funding Notes

This is a self-funded PhD project; applicants will be expected to pay their own fees or have a suitable source of third-party funding. Bench fees may apply to this project, in addition to tuition fees. UK students may be able to apply for a Doctoral Loan from Student Finance for financial support.