Using gene editing and electrophysiology to characterise sodium channel function in chronic pain
To start: 1st February 2019
Award: Full-time Industry-funded PhD Studentship
Project:
Most of us know someone who suffers from chronic pain – be it as a result of arthritis, a trapped nerve or a back injury. At least 1 in 5 people are affected by the condition, with increasing incidence in aging populations.
One reason for why people experience chronic pain is because their afferent sensory neurons fire much more than they ordinarily would. It is believed that abnormal sodium channel function is very important in bringing about this ectopic activity.
For your PhD, we would like you to test this. We will train you to perform electrophysiological experiments, where you will block different sodium channels pharmacologically and measure the consequences on neuronal activity.
We would also like you to try and disrupt sodium channel function in sensory neurons using gene editing with CRISPR/Cas9 delivered in a viral vector. For this, we will teach you molecular biology techniques, such as cloning, RNA extraction, qRT-PCR, and in situ.
If successful, at the end of your PhD, you will have developed a way to interfere with abnormal sodium channel activity in a manner that might one day be applied to help treat chronic pain in patients.
Supervisors: Prof Stephen McMahon (co-supervisor 1A) & Dr Franziska Denk (co-supervisor 1B)
Entry requirements: Applicants should have a Bachelor’s degree with 2:1 honours in a subject relevant to the proposed project (e.g. Neuroscience, Molecular Biology, Physiology, Biology).
A research-based MSc degree is not necessary, but will be viewed favourably.
A 2:2 degree may be considered only where applicants also offer a Masters with Merit.
Award types and eligibility:
This award is sponsored by a pharmaceutical partner.
Only applicants eligible for Home/EU fees may apply. This funding is not available to Overseas fee status students.
The studentship will cover tuition fees, stipend and consumables.
Further information:
https://www.franziskadenk.com/
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/depts/wolfson/research/mcmahon-lab/mcmahon-lab.aspx
How to apply:
Applicants must complete and submit an online admissions application, via the admissions portal by midnight (23.59 GMT), Wednesday 10th October 2018.
On the ‘Choosing a programme’ page, please select ‘Research degrees’ and enter the keyword ‘Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases MPhil/PhD Full Time’.
In your application, you will be asked to include:
- Academic Transcripts – where applicable, academic transcripts must be submitted with the online admissions application
- Details of your qualifications (you will need to attach copies)
- Details of previous employment
- A personal statement describing your interests and why you wish to apply for this project. Please include this as an attachment rather than using the text box.
- Academic References – all admissions applications require two supporting references. If the applicant is relying on his/her referees to submit references directly to the College after he/she has submitted his/her admissions application, then the applicant must ensure that their chosen referees are made aware of the funding deadline.
In the Funding section, please tick box 5 and include the following reference:
FD-SB-WCARD-2018
Please note there is no need to complete the Research Proposal section in your application as the project has already been set.
You are welcome to email franziska.denk@kcl.ac.uk (Supervisor) for more information regarding the project and studentship.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact the Postgraduate Research Administrative Assistant.
References must be received by the deadline for the applicant to be eligible.
Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
Closing date: 10th October 2018
Interviews: Late October