MRC AIM Doctoral Training Partnership

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Pharmacy
Location:  UK Other
Closing Date:  Friday 12 January 2024
Reference:  SCI246

The AIM (Advanced Inter-Disciplinary Models) DTP is funded by the MRC between three Partners – the Universities of Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham – and three more Associate Partners – the Research Complex at Harwell, Mary Lyon Centre and Rosalind Franklin Institute. We have a range of exciting and diverse PhD 4-year projects at all 3 partner Institutions which are now open for a September 2024 start and those available at The University of Nottingham are detailed below.

Projects with an industry partner (iCASE projects) offer a unique opportunity to undertake translational research and come with a mandatory placement requirement and an enhanced stipend.

Full information about funding of these projects and application details, including application form plus Equality, diversity and inclusion form are available at https://more.bham.ac.uk/mrc-aim/phd-opportunities/ .

The deadline for submitting applications is 12.00 am GMT, Friday, 12 January 2024. Interviews will take place during the week commencing 26 February and will be held via Zoom.  

Applicants must hold, or be about to obtain, a First or Upper Second class UK honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in a relevant subject. A master’s qualification in a related area could be beneficial, as could additional relevant research experience.

Full details can be found on the MRC website.

Please submit your application for University of Nottingham projects to [email protected] .

Projects open for application

School of Pharmacy

Project Title: Harnessing geometry for next generation bone tissue engineering

Supervisors: Robert Owen, [email protected]

Alexandra Iordachescu (UoB), Felicity Rose (UoN), Ricky Wildman (UoN)

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New approaches to bone repair are essential to meet the clinical need for tissue substitutes in many pathologies. This project aims to create a new type of bone graft that harnesses the ability to control cell behaviour through their physical environment. It is known that cells respond to cues (e.g. shape) in their environment, however this is not yet translated therapeutically due to many technical limitations. With novel advancements and the opening of the University of Nottingham’s new Additive Biofabrication Laboratory within the Biodiscovery Institute, we can now employ state-of-the-art 3D printing technology to address this complex question. The project combines unique biomanufacturing and analytical capabilities both at Nottingham and in the University of Birmingham’s School of Chemical Engineering’s Healthcare Technologies Institute. Working with experts in 3D biomanufacture and mammalian cell/in vitro tissue culture, this interdisciplinary project will allow you to work at the interface of engineering and biology disciplines. You will have the opportunity to develop skills in high-resolution 3D printing, engineering tissue analogues, biochemical assays, and advanced imaging techniques. With these skills, you will discover how we can tune materials to promote bone formation and manufacture these into a new type of medical device.