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BBSRC White Rose DTP Studentship – In vitro generation of human limb-like cells

Posted by , on 5 October 2021

Location: Sheffield, United Kingdom

Closing Date: 7 January 2022

A BBSRC White Rose PhD studentship is available in our lab (School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, UK; https://www.tsakiridislab.com/) in a collaborative project (together with Matt Towers’ group: https://towerslab.weebly.com/) based on modelling early human limb development using organoids/hPSCs.

The human limb is a complex anatomical structure that is of major relevance in terms of clinical malformations and its potential for tissue regeneration. However, we know little about how human limbs develop because in vivo analyses are not possible. The proposed PhD project aims to address this issue by developing a three-dimensional (3D) in vitro model of human limb development (‘limboid’). Using human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) differentiation in combination with gene expression analysis, fluorescence imaging and classic chick embryology techniques we will:

1) Define the optimal culture conditions for producing the progenitors of the forelimb and hindlimb from hPSCs.

2) Explore the ability of these progenitors to self-organise into 3-D forelimb and hindlimb bud-like structures (‘limboids’).

3) Test the ability of human limboids to integrate within chick limb buds following transplantation.

We envisage that the establishment of such an in vitro model of human limb development would potentially serve as a method to obtain human limb cells for tissue engineering/replacement purposes as well as disease modelling applications.

Deadline=7th of January 2022. For more information on the PhD program see: https://www.whiterose-mechanisticbiology-dtp.ac.uk/about-dtp/how-to-apply/

Click here to apply: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/applying

 

For informal enquiries email: a.tsakiridis@sheffield.ac.uk

Start date: 1 October 2021

Closing Date: 7 January 2022

Scientific fields: Stem cells, Development and disease, Cell fate control and differentiation, Early embryogenesis, Evo-devo and eco-evo-devo, Morphogenesis, Tissue engineering and organoids, Patterning

Model systems: Chick, Cell culture, Organoid, Human

Duration: Fixed term

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