看板studyabroad
在University of Bern(瑞士伯恩)的Melody Huang是一位麻醉科的group leader。她現在
在招收博士生(2023年起100%薪水PhD student)。瑞士薪水非常優渥,環境舒適,生技產
業非常發達。對免疫、生化、神經科學有興趣的學生可以考慮。以下是詳細內容:
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PhD in Anaesthesiology: Proposal for a PhD’s Thesis Project
Title:
Inflammatory regulation effect of microRNAs on the innate and adaptive immunit
y under physiological and traumatic conditions
Background:
Anesthesia and surgery can result in a variety of metabolic and endocrine resp
onses, including an immunosuppressive impact on patients during the immediate
post-operative period, which may further implicate in the development of post-
operative septic complications and tumor metastasis formation.
Human leukocyte antigen–DR isotype (HLA-DR) is a major histocompatibility cla
ss II (MHC-II) cell surface receptor found on antigen-presenting cells and pla
ys a key role in initiating adaptive immune responses. In severely immunocompr
omised patients with conditions like sepsis and severe cases of coronavirus di
sease 2019 (COVID-19), the number of HLA-DR molecules expressed on leukocytes
is considered to correlate with infectious complications and patients’ probab
ility of survival.
Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) formation, NETosis, is a relatively newly
identified function of neutrophils. Although NETosis is shown to involve in va
rious immune processes including the pathogenesis of sepsis, until today NETs
formation during an immunosuppressed state such as in perioperative surgical t
rauma remains largely unclear. It is conceivable that NETosis may be compromis
ed during an immunodeficiency state.
Aim:
The aim of this PhD thesis project is to investigate if the above-described pe
rioperative immunosuppression could be reflected in the reduction of monocytic
HLA-DR expression and the NETosis rate using in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo m
odels. Further, we will systematically examine the HLA-DR regulation by microR
NAs, pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokines, hormones, and neurotransmitters.
The overarching goal of this research project is to facilitate clinical anesth
esiology and immunology studies by providing an efficient preclinical screenin
g platform for candidate therapeutics, in compliance with the 3R (Replace, Red
uce, Refine) concepts.
Research work, methods:
Research work and main methods may cover:
-Cell culture, whole blood culture, animal models
-RNAi assays (e.g., miRNA transfection)
-Flow cytometry
-Fluorescent live imaging
-Morphology and histopathology
-Various staining techniques (e.g., IHC, ISH, FISH)
-Various gene/protein expression quantification (e.g., qPCR, western blot, ELI
SA)
-RNA sequencing
-Statistical analysis
Potential Relevance:
Until now genome-wide association studies have not yielded early sepsis biomar
kers or targets for treatment. We expect to identify novel candidate miRNA reg
ulators of monocytic surface HLA-DR expression. Further, the whole blood assay
may provide a broader assessment of additional serum biomarker and/or biosign
ature profiles. The outcome of this research will not only advance our knowled
ge of the genetic regulatory network underlying HLA-DR expression alterations
during an immunosuppressed state, such as in severe surgical trauma, but will
also help reveal early biomarkers and ultimately potential novel treatment opt
ions for critically ill patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.
References:
1) Houseman M, Huang MY, Huber M, Staiger M, Zhang L, Hoffmann A, Lippuner C,
St晈er F. Flow Cytometry-Based High-Throughput RNAi Screening for miRNAs Regul
ating MHC Class II HLA-DR Surface Expression. Eur J Immunol. 2022 May 25. doi:
10.1002/eji.202149735.
2) Paul, P. et al. A Genome-wide multidimensional RNAi screen reveals pathways
controlling MHC class II antigen presentation. Cell 145, 268-283, doi:10.1016
/j.cell.2011.03.023 (2011).
3) Papayannopoulos, V., Neutrophil extracellular traps in immunity and disease
. Nat Rev Immunol, 2018. 18(2): p. 134-147.
Requirements:
Team player; strong motivation to conduct research; creativity and independent
thinking to generate new ideas; good knowledge in molecular and cell biology;
knowledge of neurobiology and immunology and/or experience with animal experi
mentation would be a plus.
Contact details of supervisor:
Melody Ying-Yu Hedinger, [email protected], +41 31 632 08 26
Department for BioMedical Research
University Bern
Murtenstrasse 35, CH-3008 Bern
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