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pyxili

铁虫 (小有名气)

应助: 0 (幼儿园)
金币: 165.1
红花: 3
帖子: 79
在线: 25.2小时
虫号: 1497446
注册: 2011-11-18
性别: GG
专业: 固体力学

[交流] 博士招生信息—Queen Mary, University of London

大家好，我现在帮我导师招一名博士。请有兴趣的同学尽快把简历发到邮箱（Li Xi: l.xi@qmul.ac.uk）

一月31号之前要完成申请和面试。请大家帮忙宣传一下，多谢！

Queen Mary, University of London

School of Engineering and Materials Science

China Scholarship Council PhD studentships, starting 1st October 2013

Supervised by: Dr Himadri Gupta & Prof.Wen Wang

Active Force Generation in Mutable Collagenous Tissue:

Mechanisms and Emulation

To provide medical solutions to traumatic, degenerative and neural conditions like Parkinson’s disease, cardiac infarctions and strokes, there is an increasing demand for stimuli-responsive and dynamic biomedical materials [1]. However, two important gaps remain in our understanding and application of such materials. Firstly, the functioning of such materials at the nanoscale level remains little understood. Secondly, most biological or biomimetic polymers currently used medically have excellent passive mechanical properties (like strength or stiffness) but do not have the capacity to actively generate forces.

We seek to bridge these gaps in the current proposal. We have identified a unique natural system which is capable of generating active mechanical forces in response to stimuli (the mutable collagenous tissue (MCT) in the body wall of echinoderm starfish). MCT is unique among collagenous tissues because it is the only type which can dynamically change its mechanical properties under chemical (synthetic or biochemical) stimuli [2, 3]. It is therefore an example of a natural stimuli-responsive biopolymer. In this project we will use a X-ray nanomechanical imaging method developed by Dr. Gupta [4-9] to quantify the nanoscale structure-function relations enabling active-force generation, and test the biomechanical effects of neuropeptides in altering MCT stiffness at the fibrillar level.

Gupta’s research group pioneered the application of in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction to biomineralized tissues in the mid-2000s [4-8], and is currently focusing on biomedical applications [9]. This technique is capable of measuring structural details in biological collagenous fibrillar composites at the nanoscale, including fibril strain, interfibrillar spacing and orientation [4-9]. The impact of the research can be seen from the attention it has gained, being highlighted in Nature Materials, Materials Today, and IBMS-BoneKEY among others. The above papers are also highly cited (e.g. > 150 times for [5] and > 100 times for [4]). This method is ideally suited to quantify nanoscale deformation mechanisms in MCT. It is being actively developed by Gupta and colleagues, as shown by his successful bid for a Hard X-ray Nanoprobe beamline at Diamond.

This project takes full advantage of recent EPSRC investment at QMUL and at central research facilities like Diamond Light Source (DLS) synchrotron: in situ synchrotron X-ray scattering (SAXS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), developed at SEMS (Nanovision) and at DLS I22 (joint funded PhD studentship with QMUL) into bespoke facilities adapted specifically to biological systems. Gupta’s group is internationally leading in in situ synchrotron techniques, and he has jointly led (with Prof C. Binns, U. Leicester) a recent successful proposal for a new ￡10M Hard X-ray Nanoprobe as part of DLS’s Phase III beamlines. To leverage the basic research findings in the current proposal into new synthetic bio-nanocomposites, QMUL has state-of-the-art polymer processing facilities at the Nanoforce lab at QMUL, where substantial expertise also exists on nanofabrication and Layer-by-Layer synthesis of composites.

Publications:

For further details of the recent publications from Dr Himadri Gupta please see:

http://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/staff/publications/?h.gupta

Applicant Specifications:

I welcome applications from students with a B.Sc. or B.Eng degree (1st class) in Materials Science, Biomaterials, Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, Physics, Biophysics, and Mechanical Engineering, as well as students from Physiology or Molecular/Cellular Biology backgrounds with a strong interest in learning about biomaterials and biomechanics. A M.Sc. or MEng degree in one of these areas is desirable but not essential. Experience of laboratory-based research involving use of one or more of the following techniques would also be desirable, but not essential: X-ray diffraction and small angle X-ray scattering, scanning electron microscopy, nanoindentation, atomic force microscopy, IR- and Raman spectroscopy, histochemistry, confocal microscopy, micro-computed tomography, and biomechanical testing.

How to Apply:

Potential applicants should first send their CVs to (Li Xi: l.xi@qmul.ac.uk ). For further information please contact Dr Himadri Gupta by e-mail (h.gupta@qmul.ac.uk) so that an informal discussion can be arranged using Skype. It is strongly recommended that this is done by 25th January 2013 to allow time for preparation of application documents, which have to be submitted online to QMUL via: http://www.qmul.ac.uk/courses/co ... &course_level=1

The deadline for online applications is 31st January 2013.

References:

[1] Capadona, J.R., et al., Science, 319 1370-1374 (2008)

[2] A. Barbaglio et al, Marine Env. Res. 78, 108-13 (2012)

[3] A. R. Ribiero et al, PLoS One 6, e24822 (2011)

[4] Gupta, H.S., et al., Nano Letters, 5(10) 2108-11 (2005)

[5] Gupta, H.S., et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 103(47) 17741-6 (2006).

[6] Screen, H.R.C., et al., Soft Matter, 7(23) 11243 (2011)

[7] Gupta, H.S., et al., J Struct Biol, 169(2) 183-91 (2010).

[8] Krauss, S., et al., Bone, 44(6) 1105-1110 (2009)

[9] Karunaratne, A., et al., J Bone Miner Res, 27(4) 876-90 (2012)

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