PhD Studentship - Mapping Checkpoint Receptor Function in Th17 Cells in Melanoma

Award summary

100% of home tuition fees paid and an annual stipend of £18,622.

Overview

Checkpoint inhibitors has been a standard of care for melanoma patients but approximately 30% of patients respond to these therapies. In order to improve therapy response, it is important to study the phenotype and function of the various immune cells that are involved in tumour immunity within the tumour microenvironment.

In this PhD studentship, we aim to investigate how PD-1 regulates a type of immune cell known as CD4+ T helper cell that produces IL-17 cytokine (Th17 cells). We will investigate whether Th17 cells contribute or inhibit tumour immunity in experimental murine models of melanoma currently available within the laboratory within the context of checkpoint blockade.

The student will learn cellular immunology techniques, biochemical and molecular biology techniques along with bioinformatics analysis of single cell RNA sequencing datasets and CosMx spatial transcriptomics datasets. They will also become proficient in flow cytometry and imaging techniques and learn to work with both human and murine immune cells.

Number of awards: 1

Start date: 16^th September 2024

Award duration: 3 years

Sponsor: British Skin Foundation

Supervisors

Dr. Shoba Amarnath, Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University

Dr. Arian Laurence, University College London Hospitals (External)

Dr. Katie Smith, Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University

Eligibility criteria

You must have, or expect to achieve, at least a first or upper 2:1 honours degree or international equivalent, in biomedical sciences, immunology or cancer biology. The candidate must have or be willing to learn bioinformatics.

This award is available to home and international applicants. Successful international candidates will be required to make up the difference between home fees and international fees.

English Language requirements: IELTS 6.5 overall, with 5.5 or more in each sub-skill.

How to apply

To apply for a studentship, you must register and apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

• You can search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8420F 
• Please leave the ‘Research Area' field blank
• Select ‘PhD Biosciences (FT)' as the programme of study

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form
• The studentship code BI081 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field
• When prompted for how you are providing your research proposal - select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert - you do not need to upload a research proposal.

In addition, you will need to upload the following supporting documentation:

• Covering letter and CV. The covering letter must state the title of the studentship, quote reference code BI081 and state how your interests and experience relate to the project.  
• Degree transcripts and certificates and, if English is not your first language, a copy of your English language qualification if already completed.

You will not be able to submit your application until you have submitted all required documents/information.

Contact details

For informal enquiries please contact Dr. Shoba Amarnath at shoba.amarnath@newcastle.ac.uk

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