Previous projects

Please find below a list of ECAT PhD projects in reverse chronological order (most recent first).

Project Title
Generative classifiers and causal image labelling for safer, better medical AI
Systemic immune adaptation to menstruation: Defining the role of bone marrow in endometrial repair
Development of an Embryonic Chick Model for In Vivo Study of Human Congenital Cataracts
How can anti-tumoral neutrophil populations be harnessed to prevent disease progression in non-small cell lung cancer?
Co-produced solutions for low use of public access defibrillators following Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) in deprived urban communities in Scotland.
Mechanisms of epileptogenesis and therapeutics in a rat model of DEPDC5-related epilepsy
Characterising the circulating neutrophil compartment of preterm infants and its association with sustained innate immune dysfunction
Characterising the role of the WRN gene as a tumour suppressor in high grade serous ovarian cancer
Role of Neutrophils and Macrophages in the Resolution of Microbial Keratitis
A data driven approach to explore the impact of distinct clinical phenotypes on end-organ dysfunction and longer-term outcomes of ICU patients
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
PGK1 as a target for therapeutics in Motor Neuron Diseases
Investigating interactions between co‐infecting nematodes and host immunity using meta‐analytic, observational and experimental approaches
Defining the hypoxia-induced changes in chromatin organisation during reprogramming and pluripotency maintenance
Understanding the Impact of Obesity on Adipose Tissue B Cells in the Context of Type 2 Diabetes
Engineering the Production of Thymic and Splenic Tissue in vitro
Understanding HIV drug resistance through sequence data analysis and mathematical modelling
The role of efferocytosis in regulating inflammatory macrophage fate and response to injury in the peritoneal cavity
The role of FAK‐inhibition in antitumour T‐cell response in pancreatic cancer
Exploring mechanisms of neural crest function during development using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo model systems
Survival and adaptation of viruses within respiratory droplets: a c ombined molecular biological an d biophysical study
Mechanisms underpinning the propagation of pathological tau in tauopathies
The role of ER-phagy in pancreatic tumour initiation
Investigating the importance of monocyte-macrophage immunometabolism in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Exploring the “co mmunity effects” of NOTCH1 in early keratinocyte tumorigenesis
Investigation into the role of α2β1 integrin in biliary morphogenesis and tissue homeostasis through cell‐matrix interactions
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
The Influence Of Cholangiocyte Senescence And Its Senescence-associated Secretory Phenotype On Hepatocyte To Cholangiocyte Differentiation’
Understanding how chromatin organisation facilitates DNA virus persistence and innate immune system evasion
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
How do dysfunctional endothelial cells in cerebral small vessel disease modulate surrounding oligodendroglia through secretion of heath shock protein 90 alpha?
Improving engraftment for cell therapy in cholangiopathies
Maximising T cell cytotoxicity and persistence for long term anti-cancer protection for use in adoptive cell therapy (ACT)
Establishing the role of Staphylococcus aureus RNA-binding proteins in regulating host adaptive responses and antibiotic resistance
Investigating the crosstalk between adipocytes and macrophages during wound repair
The effect of diabetes mellitus and glucose dysregulation on neutrophil function and preconditioning
Investigation of the Pro-Fibrogenic Macrophage Populations Driving Pulmonary Fibrogenesis Using a Single Cell RNA Sequencing Approach
Non-cell autonomous effects of microglial nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signalling after intracerebral haemorrhage
Identification and characterisation of the TLR2-CASP4 mediated non-canonical inflammasome in non-small cell lung cancer
Understanding the role of DNA methylation as a determinant of organism size
Characterisation of RAC signalling in Inflammatory Bowel Disease-associated colorectal cancer
Investigating Streptococcus pneumoniae evolutionary adaptation to the macrophage to identify critical microbicidal mechanisms
Investigation of pro-regenerative mesenchymal subpopulations during liver regeneration using a single cell RNA sequencing approach
Mapping the targets of RNase MRP
CD97 in the host response to influenza
Investigating the genetic mechanisms of keratoconus
Maternal hyperglycaemia and fetal neurodevelopment
Establishing causal relationships from phenotypic, genotypic and proteomic data.
Genome embedded ribonucleotides: causes and consequences
The genetic and developmental basis of PAX6-negative aniridia
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
Effects of FAK signalling on induction of Th17 cells in the tumour microenvironment
The effects of neuronal activity on astrocyte neuroprotective functions
Can interleukin-4 or interleukin-13 be harnessed to aid liver repair, regeneration & fibrosis regression?
The regulation of neutrophilic inflammation by Semaphorin3F
Investigation of host red blood cell receptors essential for rosetting in severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria
The role and modulation of innate immune cells in Inflammatory Bowel Disease 
The allosteric regulation of glycolysis: a comparison of the phosphofructokinases of four species separated in evolutionary time
Can altered white matter tract characteristics predict cognitive outcome following paediatric epilepsy surgery? 
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
Tracing the origin of the Wilms’ tumour stem cell
DNA modification profiling as a tracker for high fat diet and hyperglycaemia
Functional consequences of missense mutations in GRIN2A and GRIN2B associated with mental disorders.
How does the Swain-Langley 2 polymorphism in complement receptor 1 protect against cerebral malaria? 
The role of the ATX/LPA signalling axis in the metastatic dissemination of lobular breast cancer
Analysis of the early development of human haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells
Exploration of Helminth-derived Immunoregulatory Molecules as Options for Cellular or Pharmacological Intervention in Transplantation
The role of epigenetics in the regulation of intestinal homeostasis and inflammation.
Rhodopsin trafficking defects in Retinitis Pigmentosa 
Investigating the role of new genetic susceptibility loci in osteoarthritis
Why does R133C, a missense mutation in Methyl-CpG Binding Protein 2, cause Rett Syndrome?
Changes in chromatin structure during the response of macrophages to glucocorticoids
Designing and manipulating neurons cultured on parylene-C/SiO2: how does the functionality of micro-engineered poly-neuronal networks change in response to interrogation?
The Role of WT1 in adult angiogenesis
Unleashing the potential of pericytes: direct contact with endothelial cells inhibits the stem cell potential of pericytes.
Do small molecule activators of Wnt signalling enhance differentiation and elongation of mouse intestine?
Novel ligands for fluorescent imaging of breast and ovarian cancer in mouse models
Modulation of inflammatory cell apoptosis in infectious lung injury
Can mitotic kinases be exploited as drug targets in Oesophageal Adenocarcinoma?
Developmental Genetics Analysis of Post-Axial Transverse Limb Reduction Deformity (PATLRD)
The role of CDK11-mediated autophagy in tumour cells and the impact of dysregulation on tumorigenesis.
Comparative genomics of the inflammatory response.
The Src and FAK families of non-receptor tyrosine kinases in primary brain tumours.
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