Glasgow Caledonian University
PhD Research Project Opportunity
Please note that as this project is not funded by a University studentship, the successful candidate
will be required to source external funding for the research degree fees and living expenses while
studying at the university.
Project Reference number
2014SHLS003
School/Institute/Research Group
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School of Health and Life Science
Institute of Applied Health Research
Applied Vision Science
Research Discipline areas
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Stem cell, diabetes, retinal degeneration
Research Theme
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Visual Neuroscience, diabetic retinopathy
Biomedical sciences
Project Title
Patient specific induced pluripotent stem cells for understanding the
pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy
Research Project Area
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common complications
of diabetes and the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness in
the world, affecting 90% of patients with over 20 years duration of
diabetes. DR is a dual disorder which includes microvascular
complication and neurodegeneration of the retina. The microvasculature
of the retina is damaged, the blood vessels swell and leak fluid, and if
not prevented, new vessels start to grow, and ultimately lead to the
detachment of the retina. The molecular mechanisms underlying this
disease are not fully understood and the treatments available are not
effective.
Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are firstly established from
mouse embryonic fibroblasts following the transfection of four
transcriptional factors: Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf 4 and c-Myc. Human iPS cells
are capable of differentiation into the retinal cell lineages. The
photoreceptor cells dervied from the iPS cells can integrate into normal
mouse retina and express photoreceptor markers.
In this project, iPS cells will be diabetic patients and differentiated
into photoreceptors. The iPS-derived photoreceptor cells may provide a
platform for understanding the disease mechanisms of DR, and for
screening compounds that will slow or prevent photoreceptor
degeneration in these individuals.
Supervisory Team
Staff Contact
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Dr Xinhua Shu (Director of Studies, Visual Neuroscience Research
Group)
Dr David Mansfield (Visual Neuroscience Research Group)
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Dr Xinhua Shu, Xinhua.Shu@gcu.ac.uk