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These are project outlines and there is scope for appointed students to work together with supervisors to define the final project. Supervisory teams for each project are subject to confirmation.
Projects:
UCL GOS ICH Research and Teaching Departments
- Developmental Biology and Cancer
- Developmental Neurosciences
- Genetics and Genomic Medicine
- Infection, Immunity and Inflammation
- Population, Policy and Practice
CHR-CIO-funded GOS ICH / University of Toronto
The UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOS ICH) has a reciprocal academic exchange arrangement with the University of Toronto whereby PhD students from GOS ICH may spend 6 months of their PhD carrying out research (typically during the second year of their PhD) at the University of Toronto. Two possible projects are available in the 2024-25 CHR PhD project portfolio as a UCL/University of Toronto research project:
- How do birth defects arise after HIV treatment? (Developmental Biology & Cancer)
- Investigating how lymphatics regulate kidney growth and regeneration in health and disease (Developmental Biology & Cancer)
Developmental Biology and Cancer
- Sex differences in disorders of the embryonic brain
- Design of nanoparticle-based, Toxin Gene Systems For Neuroblastoma Treatment
- The HMMR protein as a potential oncogenic driver in neuroblastoma
- Advancing translational cell therapy for Hirschsprung disease
- Understanding the functional development and plasticity of Interstitial cells of Cajal: Potential targets for gut motility disorders
- Developing artificial mini-kidneys to treat childhood kidney disorders
- Development of new models of Diffuse Midline Glioma in zebrafish
- Skull base malformations in craniofacial disorders
- DNA damage and cell senescence as causes of embryo malformations
- How do neural progenitor cells integrate into the neuroepithelium?
- Developing AAV gene therapy for Polycystic Kidney Disease
- Treating congenital diseases before birth
- Analysing Heart Development Using Stem Cell and Mouse Synthetic Embryoids.
- Unraveling the epigenetic vulnerabilities of recurrent paediatric brain tumours
- Investigating the role of mechanical compression in alveolar specification during fetal lung development.
- Investigating MYB regulated transcriptional circuits to uncover novel leukaemia susceptibilities
- Single cell mapping of the human amniotic fluid across healthy and diseased gestation
Developmental Neurosciences
- Severe speech disorders in rare genetic conditions: a brain imaging investigation
- Disease modelling to understand long-term progression and treatment response in Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
- Image alignment for intraoperative neuronavigation
- Extracellular vesicles in Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy
- Feasibility and Validity of Online Cognitive Skills Assessment in Children Undergoing Presurgical Evaluation for Epilepsy Surgery
- Developing 3D patient-derived neuronal models to elucidate neurodevelopmental defects in Spinal Muscular Atrophy
- Neurodevelopment, communication and wellbeing outcomes for children treated with novel therapies for Spinal Muscular Atrophy
- Subtyping of childhood cerebral visual impairment: what are the visual perceptual and neurophysiological underpinnings?
- Predictors of functional outcome in children born without the corpus callosum: a brain imaging investigation
- Maturation of gamma oscillation, microglial function, and inhibitory circuitry in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord during the postnatal development
- Brain connections associated with seizure freedom following epilepsy surgery for children: an ultra-high-resolution brain imaging study
- Comprehensive neuroimaging characterization of neurodegeneration and brain plasticity in children with Rasmussen Syndrome
Genetics and Genomic Medicine
- Developing novel RNA editing therapy for neuromuscular disorders
- Messenger RNA therapy for neuronopathic Gaucher disease
- Developing neuron-targeting lipid nanoparticles for translational applications
- Towards personalised medicine for rare inherited brain diseases by identifying and manipulating variant RNA transcripts
- Establishing 3-dimensional human organoids to study complex lymphatic anomaly
- Neuroimaging and genomics in primary mitochondrial diseases
- Mitochondrial Disease Gene Discovery in the 100,000 Genomes Project
- Application of ‘omic’ technology and AI/machine learning to elucidate poorly understood disease mechanisms in lysosomal storage disorders
- Understanding the relationship between Parkinson’s disease and lysosomal storage diseases using state-of-the-art lipid pathway flux analysis
Infection, Immunity and Inflammation
- Gene therapy in Deficiency of adenosine deaminase type 2 (DADA2)
- The MAGIC-WAND Study: Micro-organism and Gram-Negative Infection Control - Wastewater for AMR and Novel Disease Detection
- Preventing fetal growth restriction and preterm birth in countries with a high infectious disease burden.
- Predicting and preventing spontaneous preterm birth
- Targeting the blood-brain barrier endothelium to increase hematopoietic stem cell engraftment for lysosomal storage disease gene and cell therapy
- The function of the FoxA transcription factors in T-cell development and homeostasis
- Childhood obesity, Hedgehog signalling, Inflammation and Bardet-Biedl Syndrome
- Development of topical gene therapy for rare genetic skin diseases
- Implications of long term colonisation with antimicrobial resistant pathogens
Population, Policy and Practice
- Hepatitis B in pregnancy in England: pregnancy and neonatal outcomes
- Antenatal screening for infections and sexual health promotion in pregnancy
- Imaging in Intellectual Disabilities associated with Rare Genetic Disorders – the IMAGINE-ID cohort
- Co-development and piloting of a Family Centred Care model, Kamuzu central Hospital, Malawi
- Harms to children and young people in the UK due to health service delays in management of eye/vision conditions.
- Evaluation of educational and healthcare outcomes and their interaction for children with chronic liver disease in the UK
- Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trajectories of mental health presentations to health care across the life courses of mothers and siblings of children in the UK
- BMI trajectories from childhood to mid-to-late adulthood in two British birth cohorts: life course risk factors and health impacts
- Understanding the potential links between water chemicals and children’s health in vulnerable communities in India
- Co-development and piloting of a Family Centred Care model, Kamuzu central Hospital, Malawi
- Price Promotions and Children’s Health
- National Child Measurement Programme: using statistical and machine learning approaches to inform public health practice
- Health and education outcomes of children with Sickle Cell Disease in England
- Exploring associations between mental health and weight status/metabolic health/nutrient intake
Link back to PhD Studentships page
