PhD Studentship - Developing a Novel Imaging Flow Cytometer for Label-Free Characterisation of Human White Blood Cells in Health and Disease

Award Summary

100% of home tuition fees paid and an annual stipend (living expenses) of £18,622.

Overview

Are you interested in developing a 3D Imaging Flow Cytometer for biomedical applications? White blood cell (WBC) analysis is crucial in medical diagnostics, disease monitoring, and fundamental biological research. Traditional flow cytometry methods are limited to measuring cell surface markers and require labelling with fluorescent dyes, which may alter the cell's properties or introduce artefacts.

You will develop a 3D Imaging Flow Cytometer, including hardware (fast-imaging, optics and microfluidics) and software, for the acquisition and real-time processing of WBCs. You will become an expert in several techniques and will be supervised by academics from the Faculty of Medical Sciences and the School of Engineering to deliver this ambitious research. Previous experience in optics, image processing and coding is desirable. 

Number of awards: 1

Start date: 22^nd April 2024

Award duration: 3-years

Sponsor: Newcastle University, Faculty Medical Sciences

Supervisors

Professor Andrew Filby, Biosciences Institute, FMS

Dr Sadegh Nadimi, School of Engineering, SAgE Faculty.

Professor Paul Rees, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Swansea University.

Eligibility criteria

Minimum 2:1 honours degree (expected/achieved) or international equivalent, in an appropriate subject (e.g. biomedical sciences and biomedical engineering) and willingness to learn bioinformatics. An MRes is also advantageous.

Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subsection. International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme.

How to apply

To apply for a studentship, you must register and apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal

Register and select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

• Please apply for the 2024 academic year for September 2024.
• Searching for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8420F
• Select ‘PhD Biosciences (FT)' as the programme of study

You must provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section:

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (mandatory) - upload a document/write a statement directly in to the application form
• The studentship code BI073 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field
• When prompted - select ‘Write Proposal’ and type in the title of the research project from this advert - you do not need to upload a research proposal.

Before submission you will need to upload the following supporting documentation:

• Covering letter with studentship title quoting ref. code BI073 including how your interests and experience relate to the project with CV.
• Degree transcripts and certificates and, if English is not your first language, a copy of your English language qualification if already completed. 

Contact details

Please contact:

Professor Andrew Filby/Dr Sadegh Nadimi

Newcastle University Biosciences Institute/School of Engineering

E-mail: andrew.filby@ncl.ac.uk  Sadegh.nadimi-shahraki@ncl.ac.uk

Telephone: +44(0)1912087079 (Filby) +44(0)1912087924 (Nadimi)

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