PhD Position – Metabololic inflammation

Frequently found in people with obesity and diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NALFD) is rapidly becoming a major public health concern: affecting ~25% of the world population, including up to 30% of the UK population. The disease is characterised by an increased build-up of fat in the liver that may progress to inflammation, liver cancer, and liver failure. Despite its soaring healthcare cost (estimated £7,804 annual cost per NAFLD patient care), there is currently no approved treatment for NAFLD, the leading cause of liver transplantation. Responding to this challenge, our long-term goal is to find an effective way to treat the disease. On the basis of our striking discoveries, this project aims to understand how complement system controls the onset and progression of NAFLD, and how to develop novel therapeutics to treat the disease.

By leading in the Wales on metabolic inflammation research, we are publishing in highest tier journals (IF > 20) such as Journal of Hepatology, Cancer Cell, Science Advance, Diabetes care and so on. Our finding have been highlighted in the Faculty of 1000, the Daily Express, the New York Times and the Cardiff Star etc. This study will be of similar impact and presented internationally with influence over multiple fields including hepatology, inflammation and clinical science.

We (https://yz-lab.org/) are a growing team with generous support from the Wellcome Trust, BBSRC, Cancer Research UK and Versus Arthritis UK.  We are made up of researchers with diverse backgrounds including Medicine, Biochemistry, In vivo science, Computer Science and Statistics. The successful candidate thus will be trained in a vibrate interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary environment. She/he will gain cutting edge skills in systems biology (spatial/RNA sequencing etc) and experimental skills in inflammation and immunity (such as cellular and molecular techniques, immunological assays, animal experiments). Particularly, s/he will develop a unique translational skillset under supervision by internationally recognised experts in Systems biology, Immunity (TH) and Liver physiology (TP). S/he will also have the opportunity to develop her/his bespoke networks with our academic (University of Cambridge, Karolinska Institutet) and industrial collaborators (AstraZeneca, GSK).

For details please see https://bit.ly/3KlDfT5