Choroid Plexus Pathology in Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease: Does Thyroid Hormone Transport Failure Drive Chronic Inflammation and Neurodegeneration?

Director of Studies: Dr Eve Kelland
2^nd Supervisor: Dr Richard Hosking
3^rd Supervisor: Dr Holly Stephenson
4^th Supervisor: Dr. David Hilton (davidhilton@nhs.net)

Applications are invited for a three-year PhD studentship. The studentship will start on 1 October 2024 or 1 January 2025. 

Disability and dementia define the devastating diseases Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), but what drives the neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration? New research is focusing on the choroid plexus (ChP), a highly vascular structure hidden deep in the brain’s fluid-filled cavities. ChP is emerging as a major interface between the peripheral immune and central nervous system, an area of increasing importance in MS and AD. However, ChP also transports thyroid hormone (TH) into cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) which is then distributed throughout the brain. 

TH is vital for neurophysiology and immunometabolism such as neurogenesis, growth factors, myelination, synapse formation, microglial activation and phagocytosis. Moreover, work shows ChP is inflamed in MS and AD where it may be vulnerable to pathogens including SARS-CoV-2.

This PhD will help determine if MS and AD ChP pathology leads to altered TH transport that then causes chronic inflammation and neurodegeneration in MS and AD. The student will use cutting-edge facilities to study TH metabolism and develop expertise in a range of laboratory techniques. These involve isolation of blood macrophages and in vitro cell culture for a human ChP model with immune assays and western blot; MS and AD human tissue bank brain and ChP samples for immunohistochemistry and fluorescence microscopy.

Overall, the project explores exciting concepts in macrophage biology, neurobiology, neurology and neuropathology. It is hoped the data will contribute to new clinical imaging and drug trials for MS and AD.

Applicants should have a first or upper second class honours degree in an appropriate biology related subject. A masters qualification or previous laboratory experience within the area of neuroscience would be an advantage.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum English requirements for the programme, IELTS Academic score of 6.5 (with no less than 5.5 in each component test area) or equivalent. 

The studentship is supported for 3 years and includes full home tuition fees plus a stipend of £18,655, per annum 2024/25 rate. The studentship will only fully fund those applicants who are eligible for home fees with relevant qualifications. Applicants normally required to cover international fees will have to cover the difference between the home and the international tuition fee rates. 

NB: The studentship is supported for three years of the four-year registration period. The fourth year is a self-funded ‘writing-up’ year.

If you wish to discuss this project further informally, please contact Dr Eve Kelland or Dr Richard Hosking.

Please see our apply for a postgraduate research programme page for a list of supporting documents to upload with your application. 

For more information on the admissions process generally, please visit our apply for a postgraduate research programme page or contact the Doctoral College at research.degree.admissions@plymouth.ac.uk.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview before the end of July 2024. We regret that we may not be able to respond to all applications. Applicants who have not received a response within six weeks of the closing date should consider their application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.