PhD Studentship in Neuroscience - The Role of Clonal Haematopoietic Mutations in Alzheimer's Disease

Award summary

A 4-year PhD studentship position. 100% of home tuition fees paid and an annual stipend (living expenses) of £19,237. Also additional funding given to cover research costs and a 4 month period in exchange at Juntendo University in Japan. The position is funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK.   

Overview

Interested in how the aging immune system may modify the progression of neurodegenerative diseases? The project will explore how somatic mutations carried by immune cells may influence the progression of Alzheimer’s disease - potentially leading to new therapeutic avenues for the disease. 

Recently somatic mutations that occur within the bone marrow with age have been identified in association with both slower progression of Alzheimer’s disease and also reduced levels of neuropathology within the brain. How this occurs is unknown. 

In this PhD studentship you will aim to understand whether and how these somatic mutations within immune cells may contribute to disease progression. To do this you will:

1. Derive microglia and other immune cells from iPSC cell lines
2. Use a variety of functional, and immunohistochemical techniques to determine their activation and function in disease
3. Study human post-mortem tissue with a variety of ‘omic approaches
4. Utilise and perform flow cytometry to isolate immune cells from human tissues
5. Work with a leading group in Japan to understand immune cell migration in the brain
6. Develop new functional assays to understand how immune cells interact with neurons to modify the progress of disease

Number of awards: 1

Start date: 2/2/25

Award duration: 4 years

Sponsor: Alzheimer’s Research UK PhD Studentship 

Supervisors: Dr. Michael Keogh, Prof Matt Collin, Dr Dan Erskine

Eligibility criteria

You must have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 honours degree or international equivalent, in a subject relating to biomedical sciences, including immunology or genetics. Further qualification such as an MRes is advantageous.

• This award is available to home and international applicants. Successful international candidates will be required to make up the difference between home fees and international fees. 
• English Language requirements: IELTS 6.5 overall, with 5.5 or more in each sub-skill. 

How to apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal. Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.

• Select 2024 as the ‘Year of entry’ for a February 2025 start date 
• Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study: 
• Search for the ‘Course Title’ use the programme code: 8420F 
• Research Area: Leave Blank 
• Select ‘‘PhD Biosciences (FT)’ - September 2024 . Our PG Admissions staff will change the start date to February 2025 after you've applied. 

You then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section: 

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (mandatory field) - upload document or write statement directly into the application form 
• The studentship code BI088 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field 
• ‘Research Proposal’- select ‘Write Proposal’. Use the project title from this advert – you don’t need to provide a proposal. 

Contact details

Dr. Michael Keogh
Senior Clinical Fellow and Honorary Consultant Neurologist
michael.keogh@newcastle.ac.uk

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