PhD in precision medicine – Free the Hippo

Free the Hippo – to release Glaucoma Pressure

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, with an estimated global prevalence of 3.5% among people aged 40–80 years, corresponding to approximately 80 million people and projected to increase to 112 million by 2040 (1,2). Prevalence increases markedly with age, approaching 10% among people aged over 75 (1,2). Glaucoma is characterized by progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), ultimately leading to permanent vision loss. Glaucoma is the most common cause of irreversible blindness. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is a key risk factor combined with age, genetic predisposition and immune dysregulation (1,2). Continued fluid production and aqueous humour release via the trabecular meshwork are integral to ocular homeostasis. In glaucoma, pressure builds up because fluid release through the trabecular meshwork is reduced. Increased IOP cause the optic nerve to die.

We hypothesis that evaluating cellular responses to varying IOPs enables prediction of glaucoma patient outlook. We anticipate that either modulating IOP dynamics, or the trabecular meshwork cellular response to IOP, enables therapeutical modulation toward a neuroprotective phenotype. If successful, our approach will reverse pressure buildup, reduce neuroinflammation and protect RGCs, and the project thereby aims to change clinical practice longer-term. Our unique experimental setup, combining microfluidics and quantitative phase imaging, allows us to analyse cellular responses to fluid pressure and explore how targeting mechanotransductive responses might reduce ocular pressure.

More info: https://gramhansenlab.com/

References

1): Wang Z et al., Global Glaucoma Prevalence: Burden and Projection to 2060. Am J Ophthalmol, 2026 Mar:283:324-335.

2): Jayaram H, Kolko M, Friedman DS, Gazzard G. Glaucoma: now and beyond. The Lancet. 2023;402:1788–1801.

3): Park J*, Jia S*, Salter D, Bagnaninchi P and Hansen CG. The Hippo pathway drives the cellular response to hydrostatic pressure, EMBO J (2022), 41:e108719.

4): Cunningham R, Jia S, Purohit K, Fairley M, Maniak MK, Lin Y, Hui NS, Graham R, Rossi A, Cholewa-Waclaw J, Bagnaninchi PO, N Carragher and Hansen CG. Pipeline to evaluate YAP-TEAD inhibitors indicates TEAD inhibition represses NF2-mutant mesothelioma. Life Science Alliance, 2025.

Deadline: Monday 11th January 2027. Feel free to reach out and please make sure you complete you full application.