About the project
This project will use a variety of immunology, molecular biology and data-driven approaches to examine autoimmune T cell development in human lymph nodes.
This project is investigating how T cells develop. These cells are important for fighting infection, and for storing the memory of previous infections. However, if they switch on too strongly, or in response to the wrong trigger, they can themselves cause disease. Badly-controlled T cell responses drive many autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and Multiple Sclerosis. It is important that we understand how these T cells are switched on, and how they develop into the disease-causing rather than the protective type.
Most research on T cells has been performed in mice, which is useful but not ideal. To understand exactly how damaging T cell responses develop in humans, we have to use human cells. In addition, blood cells are not the same as the lymph node T cells that move into tissues. So, we need to look at lymph nodes from patients. We can do this by analysing T cells from lymph nodes which are removed from patients having surgery for a variety of conditions.
Here, the student will study this donated lymph node tissue to understand how these T cells develop. We will use flow cytometry, RNA sequencing, spatial analysis, immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy, and ELISAs to carry out this project. The student will be fully trained in all aspects of lab work, in R coding, statistics, and skills such as poster design, scientific writing and data presentation.
