Greater Cambridge Area
Funded by Cancer Research UK, I will be putting my clinical medical studies on hold to undertake a PhD supervised by Prof Randall Johnson. I will be exploring how immune cells are affected by hypoxia and other characteristics of 'tumour microenvironment', with implications for understanding both normal physiology and cancer pathology and immunotherapies.
PI: Prof Fabio Rossi I spent a month at the BRC, acquiring a range of new practical skills and investigative techniques. I also gained an insight into the field of Regenerative Medicine; the Rossi lab focuses on the repair of muscles and bone in health and disease, with particular interest in the contribution of fibro/adipogenic progenitors (FAPs). Lab techniques acquired: - Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) - Cryosectioning and tissue staining - Multiplex ELISA - Mouse work: restraint, injection, tissue sampling
PI: Prof Abigail Fowden As part of my university course, I had the opportunity to complete a 16-week project in lab of Prof Abigail Fowden, whose research concerns the developmental origins of disease and the endocrinology of pregnancy. My project used a fetal sheep model to elucidate the role of cortisol and thyroid hormones in preparing the fetal liver for birth, focusing on hepatic mitochondria. I presented a poster at the Physiology 2019 Annual Conference, comparing my data from liver to the findings of Dr Katie Davies in skeletal muscle. Lab techniques acquired: - Citrate Synthase Assay (for mitochondrial density) - Western Blotting - RT-qPCR
PI: Prof Dino Giussani 10 weeks spent working in the lab of Prof Dino Giussani. Using a chick embryo heart model, l investigated the action and mechanism of the gasotransmitter hydrogen sulphide in the developing heart. I have presented a poster and given two oral presentations on this work (below). I have co-first authored a publication based on this work in the Journal of Physiology.
PI: Prof Henk Stunnenberg Two months working in the epigenetics lab of Prof Henk Stunnenberg, completing a project on the role of epigenetic modifications in the phenomenon of innate immune memory. My project supervisor was Dr Boris Novakovik. Lab techniques acquired: - Cell culture (monocytes) - RT-qPCR - DNA agarose gel electrophoresis - ChIP-seq