About the Project
A fully funded PhD opportunity to participate in the world-leading research undertaken by the EPSRC Doctoral Landscape Award at the University of Sheffield.
Supervised by Dr Milena De Felice and Dr Thomas Paterson.
The University of Sheffield is one of the leading Russell Group universities in the UK. We carry out cutting-edge research with strong links to industry. When you enrol to do a PhD with us, you will be working with world-leading academics and have access to top of the range facilities. As a PhD student you will have the opportunity to gain skills not only to conduct research, but also to take your career to the next level, whether you want to stay in academia, go into industry or the public sector, or set up your own company. You will have access to a range of training and support services to help you excel in your studies and beyond.
Project Description
Temperature has a powerful effect on how nerve cells function and respond to injury. Lowering temperature can reduce the metabolic demand of neural tissue and alter electrical activity, which is why controlled cooling continues to attract interest as a way of limiting damage after ischaemic injury. What is less well understood is how the precise pattern of cooling experienced by different parts of a neural network influences subsequent recovery.
In most experimental studies, cooling is described using a single target temperature. In practice, however, temperature changes continuously across both space and time. Cells closest to a cooling source may cool more quickly or reach a lower temperature than cells only a short distance away. Understanding these local differences could help us define cooling conditions more precisely and make experimental studies easier to compare.
This PhD will develop a small, soft microfluidic device capable of producing controlled local cooling across cultures of cortical neurons. Temperature-controlled fluid will pass through channels positioned beneath or alongside the culture, without direct contact with the cells. Measurements from a small number of temperature sensors will be combined with a computer model of heat transfer to reconstruct how temperature changes across the neuronal network over time.
The student will then investigate whether these local thermal differences influence recovery after ischaemic stress. Cortical neuronal cultures will undergo oxygen-glucose deprivation followed by reoxygenation, an established laboratory model of ischaemic injury. Their electrical activity will be monitored using a multi-electrode array, allowing neuronal activity to be recorded simultaneously from many locations within the same culture.
This creates an unusual opportunity to relate the temperature history experienced at each part of the network to its subsequent functional recovery. After the cultures have returned to normal temperature, the student will quantify recovery of neuronal firing, bursting and coordinated network activity. Measuring recovery after rewarming is important because cooling itself can temporarily suppress electrical activity; the aim is to determine whether particular cooling conditions support better recovery rather than simply changing activity while the cells are cold.
The project will focus initially on three variables that are likely to shape the response: how far temperature is reduced, when cooling begins relative to the injury, and how long cooling is maintained. Rewarming will be standardised so that these factors can be examined clearly. Designed experiments will allow the student to identify informative combinations efficiently and determine how cooling conditions interact.
The multi-electrode-array platform and established cortical neuronal culture capability will be available within the supervisory environment, allowing the student to concentrate on developing and testing the new thermal-control approach rather than establishing major infrastructure.
The project brings together engineering and neuroscience. The student will gain experience in device design, microfluidics, temperature sensing, heat-transfer modelling, neuronal culture and electrophysiology. Rather than attempting to develop a clinical implant within the PhD, the project will establish the engineering and biological principles needed to control neural cooling more precisely. Its main outputs will be a validated experimental platform and quantitative design rules linking local thermal exposure to neuronal recovery, providing a foundation for future focal cooling and neural-interface technologies.
How to apply
Interested candidates are strongly encouraged to contact the project supervisors to discuss your interest in and suitability for the project prior to submitting your application.
Please refer to the EPSRC DLA webpage for detailed information about the EPSRC DLA and how to apply.
Applicants must ensure that they use the correct application form linked to the EPSRC DLA webpage and must submit an application for October 2027 entry. The form is unique to the EPSRC DLA. It contains the list of advertised projects from which to select, and three questions specific to the DLA.
The application deadline is 17:00 GMT 13 January 2027.
The majority of our DLA studentships will be allocated to candidates who qualify for Home fee status, in accordance with EPSRC funding regulations which place strict limits on international recruitment.
Funding Notes
The award will fund the full tuition fee and a maintenance stipend at the UKRI rate (currently £21,805 per annum) for 3.5 years, as well as a research grant to support costs associated with the project.