Unfunded Project Portfolio

Potential projects are available for high quality students who wish to study for a PhD.  These projects, currently unfunded, are open to all students, including those who are self-funding or who have secured their sponsorship for 3 years. 

The following project outlines are available for discussion with the relevant supervisor(s). Students wishing to apply for one of the listed projects should see “How do I make a GOS ICH PhD Application?“ and cleary indicate the title of the project they are interested in when applying. Enquiries may be made directly to the relevant Principal Investigator or to ICH Research Degrees.

All projects will be peer reviewed.

Developmental Biology and Cancer

• Using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to study Down syndrome neural pathology and possible interventions (Professor Patrizia Ferretti)
• Development of new models of Difuse Midline Glioma in zebrafish (Dr David Michod)
• Emergence of variability from multi-scale stochasticity in organoids and embryos (Dr Gabriel Galea)
• Understanding the cellular and metabolic basis of brain dysfunction in an inherited childhood neurological disease (Professor Nicholas Greene)
• Molecular regulation of epithelial fusion events required during nervous system and craniofacial development (Professor Nicholas Greene)
• Investigating the role of MLL protein in the epigenetic regulation of paediatric diffuse midline glioma. Supervisors: David Michod and Juan Pedro Martinez-Barbera
• Human models for the investigation of proteins associated with birth defects affecting face and long bone skeleton and cognitive development. Supervisors: Patrizia Ferretti, Oliver Gardner and Simon Eaton
• Understanding the function of senescent cells in genetic models of paediatric low-grade brain tumours. Supervisors: Juan Pedro Martinez-Barbera and Laura Donovan
• Dissecting the protumourigenic activities of senescent cells in the development and relapse of paediatric diffuse midline glioma. Supervisors: Juan Pedro Martinez-Barbera and David Michod
• Building a vascularized human alveolar epithelium in vitro. Supervisors: Paolo De Coppi and Federica Michielin
• Development of a platform for somatic cell reprogramming to iPSCs in microfluidic environment. Supervisors: Jane Sowden, Paolo De Coppi and Marco Pellegrini 
• Developing AAV gene therapy for Polycystic Kidney Disease. Supervisors: Dr Jennie Chandler and Professor David Long 
• Lymphatics in kidney growth and regeneration. Supervisors: Professor David Long and Dr Daniyal Jafree
• Skull base malformations in craniofacial disorders. Supervisors: Erwin Pauws, Tengyang Qiu
• Generation of a Single-Cell Atlas of Human Amniotic Fluid in Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia: Developing Advanced Disease Models and Drug Testing Tools. Supervisors: Mattia Gerli, Simon Eaton
• Validation of Human-Derived Neuroblastoma Organoids and Stem Cells for Fluorescence-Guided Surgery Targeting Neuroblastoma Antigens. Supervisors: Stefano Giuliani, Paolo de Coppi
• Improving Molecular Diagnosis of Childhood TumourS Supervisors: Thomas Jacques, Darren Hargrave 
• Investigating senolytic therapy in a novel mouse model of airway stenosiS Supervisors: Dr Rob Hynds, J.P. Martinez-Barbera 
• Re-purposing anti-fibrotic therapies in airway epidermolysis bullos Supervisros: Dr Rob Hynds, Dr David Pearce, Prof Rachel Chambers
• Prenatal Gene Therapy for Alpha Thalassemia Using Virus-Like Particles. Supervisors: Stavros Loukogeorgakis, Alessia Cavazza, Dominic Scaglioni 
• Targeting metabolic pathways to rescue hindbrain hypoplasia in Down Syndrome. Supervisors: Paula Alexandre, Nicholas Greene  
• Understanding the biology of advanced childhood brain tumours. Supervisors: Thomas Jacques, Darren Hargrave 
• Developing artificial mini-kidneys to treat childhood urinary tract disorders. Supervisors: Professor David Long, Dr Karen Price, Dr Gideon Pomeranz 

Developmental Neurosciences

• Developing RNA-targeted therapy for collagen VI-related congenital muscular dystrophy (Professor Francesco Muntoni)
• Dissecting the multiple features of motor-speech problems in a genetic disorder using structural and functional methods of brain imaging (Professor Frederique Liegeois)
• Developing 3D patient-derived neuronal models to elucidate neurodevelopmental defects in Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Supervisors: Giovanni Baranello and Serena Barral
• Unravelling the role of SMN in neurodevelopment. Supervisors: Giovanni Baranello and Naresh Hanchate
• Adherence to Ketogenic diet therapy for children and young people with epilepsy: how can we do better? Supervisors: Prof Rob Horne and Dr Natasha Schoeler 
• Do novel gene therapies influence motor, social and thinking skills in young children with spinal muscular atrophy? Supervisors: Michelle de Haan, Giovanni Baranello 
• Understanding and Exploiting Stem Cell Regenerative Potential in Muscle Health and Disease. Supervisors: Francesco Muntoni, Massimo Ganassi 
• Predictors of functional outcome in children born without the corpus callosum. Supervisors: Michelle de Haan, Rhonda Booth 
• Identification of EEG biomarker for genetic early onset epilepsy syndromes. Supervisors: Amy McTague, Ronit Pressler 
• Towards intraoperative visualisation of brain connectivity in epilepsy patients. Supervisors: Jon Clayden, Martin Tisdall

Genetics and Genomic Medicine

• Modelling neurodegeneration in an inherited metabolic disease affecting nitric oxide metabolism, argininosuccinate lyase deficiency (Dr Julien Baruteau)
• Applying Omics technology in the treatment path for Batten disease: disease mechanisms, biomarkers, monitoring efficacy and early diagnosis (Professor Sara Mole)
• Understanding lipid metabolic flux in Gaucher and Parkinson’s diseases, Supervisors: Wendy Heywood and Jenny Hallqvist
• Epigenetic modifiers of a Mendelian disease and implications for gene therapy. Supervisors: Dagan Jenkins and Louise Gregory
• Ciliary programming of fibrotic disease responses. Supervisors: Dagan Jenkins and Louise Gregory
• Developing brain-targeting lipid nanoparticles for translational RNA applications: proof of concept in creatine transporter deficiency. Supervisors: Julien Baruteau and Naresh Hanchate
• Towards personalised medicine for rare inherited brain diseases by identifying and manipulating variant RNA transcripts. Supervisors: Prof Sara Mole and Dr Chris Minnis 
• Neuroimaging and genomics in primary mitochondrial diseases. Supervisors: Prof Shamima Rahman and Dr Konrad Wagstyl
• Rewiring astrocyte metabolism to treat Mental Health disease. Supervisors: Julien Baruteau, Manju Kuriane. 
• Developing nucleic acid therapy for paediatric neurological diseases Supervisors: Haiyan Zhou, Mina Ryten, Alice Davidson and Jinhong Meng 
• Mitochondrial Disease Gene Discovery using the 100,000 Genomes Dataset Supervisors: Shamima Rahman, Damian Smedley, Nandaki Keshavan 

Infection, Immunity and Inflammation

• Gene Editing for CD40L Deficiency (Professor Waseem Qasim)
• Optimising strategies to rebalance the immune system in childhood arthritis (Professor Lucy Wedderburn)
• The role of lymphocyte crosstalk in autoimmune myositis (Professor Lucy Wedderburn)
• The MAGIC-WAND Study: Micro-organism and Gram-Negative Infection Control - Wastewater for AMR and Novel Disease Detection (Dr Louis Grandjean)
• Using gene editing to treat a rare inflammatory disorder called Deficiency of adenosine deaminase type 2 (DADA2). Supervisors: Despina Eleftheriou and Paul Brogan
• Exploring New Treatments for Airway Inflammation by Targeting CD44. Supervisors: Dr Claire Smith and Dr Tereza Masonou
• Predicting and preventing spontaneous preterm birth. Supervisors: Mona Bajaj-Elliott and Patricia Hunter 
• Characterising infectious illnesses in children through integrated host/microbe metagenomics studies. Supervisors: Judith Breuer and Sofia Morfopoulou and Cristina Venturin
• Targeting the blood-brain barrier to increase hematopoietic stem cell engraftment for neurometabolic disorders. Supervisors: Sara Benedetti, Giorgia Santilli, Bethan Critchley 
• Using Genomics to Detect Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms that are a Threat to Child Health. Supervisors: Louis Grandjean, James Hatcher, Ben Sobkowiak
• Development of new gene editing delivery systems that cross the blood brain barrier for the treatment of Krabbe Disease and other lysosomal storage disorders. Supervisors: Sara Benedetti, Alessia Cavazza, Asma Naseem 
• Why the drugs don’t work: using nanopore sequencing to decode immune cells in immunocompromised babies with severe RSV bronchiolitis to find new therapies

Population, Policy and Practice 

• Price Promotions and Children’s Health: Evidence to inform policy. Supervisor: Oliver Mytton and Mario Cortina Borja
• Novel approaches to imaging the developing brain in children with intellectual disabilities of genetic origin. Supervisors: Prof David Skuse and Prof Chris Clark 
• Paternal health and family courts: a study using whole-of-England, linked administrative data. Supervisors: Ruth Gilbert and Matthew Jay 
• Have disease modifying treatments in cystic fibrosis reduced or exacerbated health inequalities? Supervisors: Gwyneth Davies and Ofran Almossawi 
• Health outcomes of children with rare or complex conditions and their families: a longitudinal cohort study using linked primary and secondary healthcare data in England. Supervisors: Ania Zylbersztejn and Joachim Tan 
• Child-to-adult BMI trajectories in British birth cohorts: life course risk factors and adult health impacts. Supervisors: Leah Li and Simon Russell 
• National Child Measurement Programme: using statistical and machine learning approaches to inform public health practice. Supervisors: Oliver Mytton, Mario Cortina Borja 
• Climate change and double burden of malnutrition in Brazilian children. Supervisors: Leah Li,  Mengyun Liu 

Funded projects are also currently available - please see current full-time funded studentships