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Research Opportunities

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Prospective Students

The goal of the NIH Oxford-Cambridge (OxCam) Scholars Program is to create, foster, and advance unique and collaborative research opportunities between NIH laboratories and laboratories at the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge. Each OxCam Scholar develops a collaborative research project that will constitute his/her doctoral training. Each Scholar also select two mentors – one at the NIH and one in the UK – who work together to guide the Scholar throughout the research endeavor.

Students may select from two categories of projects: Self-designed or Prearranged. OxCam Scholars may create a self-designed project, which enables students to develop a collaborative project tailored to his/her specific scientific interests by selecting one NIH mentor and one UK mentor with expertise in the desired research area(s). Alternatively, students may select a prearranged project provided by NIH and/or UK Investigator(s) willing to mentor an OxCam Scholar in their lab.

Self-designed Projects 
Students may create a novel (or de novo) project based on their unique research interests. Students have the freedom to contact any PI at NIH or at Oxford or Cambridge to build a collaboration from scratch. The NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) represents a community of approximately 1,200 tenured and tenure-track investigators providing a wealth of opportunity to explore a wide variety of research interests. Students may visit https://irp.nih.gov to identify NIH PIs performing research in the area of interest. For additional tips on choosing a mentor, please visit our Training Plan.

Prearranged Projects
Investigators at NIH or at Oxford or Cambridge have voluntarily offered collaborative project ideas for NIH OxCam Scholars. These projects are provided below and categorized by research area, NIH Institute/Center, and University. In some cases, a full collaboration with two mentors is already in place. In other instances, only one PI is identified, which allows the student to select a second mentor to complete the collaboration. Please note that prearranged project offerings are continuously updated throughout the year and are subject to change.

21 Search Results

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141
Category:
Immunology
Project:

Investigating the role of transcription factor networks in T cell immunoregulatory fate decisions

Project Listed Date:
Institute or Center:
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
University:
Oxford
Project Details:

Regulatory T cells expressing the FoxP3 transcription factor (Tregs) are arguably the most important naturally-occurring anti-inflammatory cells in the body and are prime candidates for cellular therapy of autoimmunity and transplant rejection. They are potently immunosuppressive, indispensable for maintaining self-tolerance and in resolving inflammation. Tregs can be induced to develop dichotomously from naïve precursors that also have the ability to differentiate into inflammatory T cell lineages. The choice of differentiation pathway (“fate decisions”) is directed by environmental signals and interplay between many transcription factors working within networks. The expression of many genes is required for a healthy immune response and this is highlighted by the discovery of many gene mutations that are associated with very early onset auto-immune disease.

Our goal is to understand how transcriptional signals from the environment are integrated in T cells to determine inflammatory versus regulatory T cell differentiation and the quality and duration of effector function. Experimental approaches will involve genomics of patients with primary immuno-deficiencies and very early onset colitis, next generation sequencing platforms (RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, Cut&Run, ATAC-seq, scRNAseq), molecular and cell biology, CRISPR genome editing and in vivo murine models.

129
Category:
Immunology
Project:

Understanding of the mechanisms through which CD4 T helper cells and innate lyphoid cells acquire their specific protective/tissue damaging effects.

Project Listed Date:
Institute or Center:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
UK Mentor:
N/A
University:
N/A
Project Details:
N/A
123
Category:
Immunology
Project:

Connection between metabolism and innate immunity using mitochondrial mouse mutant models and quantitative proteomics.

Project Listed Date:
Institute or Center:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
University:
Cambridge
Project Details:
N/A
120
Category:
Immunology
Project:
N/A
Project Listed Date:
Institute or Center:
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
NIH Mentor:

Dr. Michael Lenardo

University:
Cambridge
Project Details:

The metabolic repertoire of immune cells – which encompasses metabolic enzymes/pathways, the available nutrient sensors and metabolic checkpoint kinases, and the epigenetic programming of metabolic genes – directly enables and modulates specific immune functions. Capitalizing on a large cohort of patients suffering from rare genetic immunodeficiency that have been whole-genome sequenced, our goal is to delineate the genetic and molecular basis of how cellular metabolism regulates immune-function in human health and disease states. Experimental approaches will involve genomics, molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, and biochemistry with an aim to elucidating mechanisms that lead to new treatment approaches to inborn diseases of immunity.

108
Category:
Immunology
Project:

Role of lysosomes in controlling immune function

Project Listed Date:
Institute or Center:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
NIH Mentor:

Dr. Michael Sack

UK Mentor:

Prof. Frances Platt

University:
Oxford
Project Details:

The nutrient sensing and quality control linked organelles called lysosomes are best known to immunologists due to their roles in antigen presentation (dendritic cells) and in the facilitation of pathogen elimination (macrophages). Their role in the control of immunity is further recognized that inhibition of lysosomal function can promote anti-inflammatory effects by preventing the degradation of glucocorticoid receptors and conversely that impaired lysosome function in genetic lysosome storage diseases can blunt the number and function of natural killer cells. The Platt laboratory (Dept. of Pharmacology, Univ. of Oxford) investigates immune function in lysosome storage disease and the Sack laboratory (NHLBI, NIH) explores the molecular machinery controlling lysosomal homeostasis and their roles in immunity. An integrated project between the two labs, in collaboration with an NIH OxCam Scholar would be designed to enable the pursuit of an Ph.D. studying the role of lysosomes in controlling immune function.

*This project is available for the 2021 Oxford-NIH Pilot Programme*

104
Category:
Immunology
Project:

Dissecting the role of the complosome in immune cell tissue residency

Project Listed Date:
Institute or Center:
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
NIH Mentor:

Dr. Claudia Kemper

UK Mentor:
N/A
University:
N/A
Project Details:

Intracellular complement (the complosome) emerges as key regulator of key cell metabolic pathways in a range of (immune) cells. In consequence, perturbations in complosome activity contribute to human disease states, including recurrent infections and autoimmunity. Recent data also indicate that high complosome expression is the defining feature of tissue-resident immune cells including T cells and macrophages. In this project, we will combine pertinent mouse models and intravital imaging to address the role of the complosome in maintaining residency and sustaining function crosstalk between immune and parenchymal cells in tissues (lung/kidney/brain?) during normal homeostasis and in disease (which one?).

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