Description du poste
This 4-year PhD studentship is open to both Home (UK) and international applicants. The successful candidate will receive an annual stipend at the UKRI minimum rate (currently £21,805 per year) plus £1,000/annum enhancement, and a research training support grant of up to £20,000 for the full 4-year programme. This project is in competition for funding with other projects. Usually, the projects that receives the best applicants will be successful. Immune cells continuously patrol the body to maintain health. Central to this process is their ability to sense environmental cues and respond appropriately. When T cells engage antigen-presenting cells (APCs), they simultaneously encounter numerous stimulatory, co-stimulatory, inhibitory, and adhesive signals at specialised contact sites known as immune synapses . Growing evidence suggests that the nanoscale spatial organisation of these molecular cues plays a critical role in determining how T cells interpret and integrate information. The nanoscale architecture of the immune synapse, including how receptors and their ligands cluster, segregate, and reorganise in space and time, varies substantially depending on the combination of signals present. Because signalling output appears to depend as much on this spatial organisation as on ligand identity itself, the same receptor may generate distinct downstream responses depending on the nanoscale context in which it is engaged. Understanding immune signalling therefore requires not only identifying the molecular components involved but also determining how these components are wired into functional signalling circuits. This project will directly address this challenge by combining a synthetic antigen-presenting cell platform with state-of-the-art nanoscale molecular mapping technologies. Engineered APCs displaying bioorthogonal click-biology handles will be used to present precisely defined combinations of peptide-MHC complexes, co-stimulatory receptors, co-inhibitory receptors, and integrin ligands at controlled surface densities. These programmable cells will provide an unprecedented ability to manipulate the composition and organisation of immune synapses. Using a combination of super-resolution imaging and photocatalytic proximity-labelling approaches, the student will generate detailed molecular maps of synapse architecture and determine how distinct combinations of extracellular cues are translated into intracellular signalling outcomes. This project is expected to start in September 2027. https://aarontrowbridge1.wixsite.com/trowbridgegroup [aarontrowbridge1.wixsite.com] Before you apply: Please contact the main project supervisor, Dr Aaron Trowbridge , to learn more about the project and discuss whether it may be suitable for you. To be considered for this project you must submit a formal application through our online application portal by following the instructions provided here . Please note that you must select programme FSE PhD President’s Doctoral Scholarship: If you already have an applicant account, use this link to open an application for FSE PhD President's Doctoral Scholarship. If you do not yet have an applicant account, follow the account setup instructions and then use this link to open an application for the correct programme. When applying, please specify the full title and supervisor/s of the project, details of your previous study, and names and contact details of two referees. You must also upload a Supporting Statement describing your motivation to apply to the project, your CV and transcripts of awarded and in-progress university qualifications. Please note late or incomplete applications will not be considered.