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University of Bedfordshire
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
UK, LU1 3JU
To apply for a research degree, please make sure you fulfill the entry requirements and then complete the online research degree application form and upload your supporting documents.
You should have a good honours degree (2:1 or above) or masters degree or equivalent in the relevant subject area.
International applicants should be aware of our research degree English language requirements
Isolation, culture and cryopreservation of pluripotent cells of zebrafish
Degree - MRes, MPhil, PhD
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) derived from mammalian embryos are widely used in the study of embryonic development and in work aimed at understanding and generating therapies for various diseases. These cells have the ability to divide indefinitely and to develop into all cell types of the body. They are therefore a valuable alternative to the use of intact embryos for research in these areas. Although the use of zebrafish (ZF) embryos in research is widespread and a number of embryonic cell lines have been generated, there are still no fully characterised ESCs available in this species. The development of ZF ESC lines would enable researchers to make direct comparisons between work carried out in the laboratory and on live animals/embryos and to identify areas of research where ESCs are a good model for natural development. This would subsequently reduce the number of intact embryos used for experimentation both in this species and also in mammals, perhaps including human.
This research aims to determine some of the basic information required to develop and fully characterise ZF ESC lines. The project will use various cell and molecular biology techniques to investigate the most suitable stage of embryonic development from which to isolate pluripotent cells and to identify a panel of molecular markers for pluripotency in this species. Isolated cells will then be cultured and characterised under various conditions to investigate conditions most suitable for maintaining pluripotency and for directing differentiation into different cell types. Once ESC lines are established, systematic studies will be carried out to develop successful cryopreservation protocols for these lines using controlled slow cooling and vitrification techniques. This work will provide a foundation from which to establish true ESC lines in this species and perhaps also other fish species.
For more details please contact Professor Tiantian Zhang: tiantian.zhang AT beds.ac.uk or Dr Emma Spikings: emma.spikings AT beds.ac.uk
