Previous projects

Previous ECAT projects are listed here. They have been listed in loose themes to ease reading. Of course, many projects span two or more different themes.

  • Generative classifiers and causal image labelling for safer, better medical AI
  • A data driven approach to explore the impact of distinct clinical phenotypes on end-organ dysfunction and longer-term outcomes of ICU patients
  • Understanding HIV drug resistance through sequence data analysis and mathematical modelling
  • Establishing causal relationships from phenotypic, genotypic and proteomic data

  • Co-produced solutions for low use of public access defibrillators following Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) in deprived urban communities in Scotland
  • Integration of the physical environment and blood-based multi-omics to explore life-course risk factors for brain health
  • Understanding and improving pregnancy planning and prevention in a high HIV burden setting

  • How can anti-tumoral neutrophil populations be harnessed to prevent disease progression in non-small cell lung cancer?
  • Characterising the role of the WRN gene as a tumour suppressor in high grade serous ovarian cancer
  • The role of FAK-inhibition in antitumour T-cell response in pancreatic cancer
  • The role of ER-phagy in pancreatic tumour initiation
  • Exploring the “community effects” of NOTCH1 in early keratinocyte tumorigenesis
  • How does genetic variation at 19q13 impart elevated risk of colorectal cancer: the contribution of interaction between FUT2 gene expression and the composition of gut microbiome
  • DNA Damage As An Engine Of Genetic Diversification During Cancer Evolution
  • Investigation of the GPR56 ligand and intracellular signaling in Leukaemic stem cells
  • The role of neutrophil subpopulations in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
  • Spatial regulation of core neurodevelopment transcription factors in human glioblastoma stem cells
  • Maximising T cell cytotoxicity and persistence for long term anti-cancer protection for use in adoptive cell therapy (ACT)
  • Identification and characterisation of the TLR2-CASP4 mediated non-canonical inflammasome in non-small cell lung cancer
  • Characterisation of RAC signalling in Inflammatory Bowel Disease-associated colorectal cancer
  • Effects of FAK signalling on induction of Th17 cells in the tumour microenvironment
  • Tracing the origin of the Wilms’ tumour stem cell
  • The role of the ATX/LPA signalling axis in the metastatic dissemination of lobular breast cancer
  • Novel ligands for fluorescent imaging of breast and ovarian cancer in mouse models
  • Can mitotic kinases be exploited as drug targets in Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma?
  • The role of CDK11-mediated autophagy in tumour cells and the impact of dysregulation on tumorigenesis
  • The Src and FAK families of non-receptor tyrosine kinases in primary brain tumours

  • Investigating interactions between co-infecting nematodes and host immunity using meta-analytic, observational and experimental approaches
  • The role of efferocytosis in regulating inflammatory macrophage fate and response to injury in the peritoneal cavity
  • Survival and adaptation of viruses within respiratory droplets: a combined molecular biological and biophysical study
  • Establishing the role of Staphylococcus aureus RNA-binding proteins in regulating host adaptive responses and antibiotic resistance
  • Investigation of the Pro-Fibrogenic Macrophage Populations Driving Pulmonary Fibrogenesis Using a Single Cell RNA Sequencing Approach
  • Investigating Streptococcus pneumoniae evolutionary adaptation to the macrophage to identify critical microbicidal mechanisms
  • CD97 in the host response to influenza
  • The regulation of neutrophilic inflammation by Semaphorin3F
  • Investigation of host red blood cell receptors essential for rosetting in severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria
  • How does the Swain-Langley 2 polymorphism in complement receptor 1 protect against cerebral malaria?
  • Exploration of Helminth-derived Immunoregulatory Molecules as Options for Cellular or Pharmacological Intervention in Transplantation
  • Modulation of inflammatory cell apoptosis in infectious lung injury

  • Mechanisms of epileptogenesis and therapeutics in a rat model of DEPDC5-related epilepsy
  • PGK1 as a target for therapeutics in Motor Neuron Diseases
  • Mechanisms underpinning the propagation of pathological tau in tauopathies
  • How do dysfunctional endothelial cells in cerebral small vessel disease modulate surrounding oligodendroglia through secretion of heath shock protein 90 alpha?
  • Non-cell autonomous effects of microglial nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signalling after intracerebral haemorrhage
  • Multi-modality imaging assessment of cerebral small vessel disease biomarkers after stroke due to spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage
  • The role of central nervous system myelination in behaviour
  • The effects of neuronal activity on astrocyte neuroprotective functions
  • Can altered white matter tract characteristics predict cognitive outcome following paediatric epilepsy surgery?
  • Functional consequences of missense mutations in GRIN2A and GRIN2B associated with mental disorders
  • Why does R133C, a missense mutation in Methyl-CpG Binding Protein 2, cause Rett Syndrome?
  • Designing and manipulating neurons cultured on parylene-C/SiO2: how does the functionality of micro-engineered poly-neuronal networks change in response to interrogation?

  • Systemic immune adaptation to menstruation: Defining the role of bone marrow in endometrial repair
  • Characterising the circulating neutrophil compartment of preterm infants and its association with sustained innate immune dysfunction
  • Maternal hyperglycaemia and fetal neurodevelopment

  • Engineering the Production of Thymic and Splenic Tissue in vitro
  • Exploring mechanisms of neural crest function during development using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo model systems
  • Improving engraftment for cell therapy in cholangiopathies
  • Investigation of pro-regenerative mesenchymal subpopulations during liver regeneration using a single cell RNA sequencing approach
  • Analysis of the early development of human haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells
  • Developmental Genetics Analysis of Post-Axial Transverse Limb Reduction Deformity (PATLRD)

  • Investigating the importance of monocyte-macrophage immunometabolism in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Investigation into the role of α2β1 integrin in biliary morphogenesis and tissue homeostasis through cell-matrix interactions
  • The Influence Of Cholangiocyte Senescence And Its Senescence-associated Secretory Phenotype On Hepatocyte To Cholangiocyte Differentiation
  • Can interleukin-4 or interleukin-13 be harnessed to aid liver repair, regeneration & fibrosis regression?
  • The role and modulation of innate immune cells in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • The role of epigenetics in the regulation of intestinal homeostasis and inflammation
  • Do small molecule activators of Wnt signalling enhance differentiation and elongation of mouse intestine?

  • Development of an Embryonic Chick Model for In Vivo Study of Human Congenital Cataracts
  • Role of Neutrophils and Macrophages in the Resolution of Microbial Keratitis
  • Investigating the genetic mechanisms of keratoconus
  • The genetic and developmental basis of PAX6-negative aniridia
  • Rhodopsin trafficking defects in Retinitis Pigmentosa

  • Understanding the Impact of Obesity on Adipose Tissue B Cells in the Context of Type 2 Diabetes
  • Investigating the crosstalk between adipocytes and macrophages during wound repair
  • The effect of diabetes mellitus and glucose dysregulation on neutrophil function and preconditioning
  • The role of eosinophils in post-myocardial infarction cardiac remodelling
  • Investigation of the role of pericyte αv integrin-mediated TGFβ activation on vascular integrity and fibrogenesis during renal injury using a novel intravital imaging approach
  • DNA modification profiling as a tracker for high fat diet and hyperglycaemia
  • Investigating the role of new genetic susceptibility loci in osteoarthritis
  • The Role of WT1 in adult angiogenesis
  • Unleashing the potential of pericytes: direct contact with endothelial cells inhibits the stem cell potential of pericytes
  • Structural and functional changes in the distal convoluted tubules of the kidney in mouse models of hypertension
  • WT1 in the kidney: Regulation of the epithelial - mesenchymal balance

  • Defining the hypoxia-induced changes in chromatin organisation during reprogramming and pluripotency maintenance
  • Understanding how chromatin organisation facilitates DNA virus persistence and innate immune system evasion
  • Understanding the role of DNA methylation as a determinant of organism size
  • Mapping the targets of RNase MRP
  • Genome embedded ribonucleotides: causes and consequences
  • The allosteric regulation of glycolysis: a comparison of the phosphofructokinases of four species separated in evolutionary time
  • Changes in chromatin structure during the response of macrophages to glucocorticoids
  • Comparative genomics of the inflammatory response