Joint NC3Rs/BHF PhD Studentship: Development and characterization of a novel endothelialized in vitro model of human atherothrombosis (Dr Sarah Jones)
Heart attacks and most strokes occur when blood clots block one or more critical arteries in the heart or brain. These conditions kill millions of people each year around the world. Cutting this death toll requires researchers to study in exact detail what happens in arteries before and during a heart attack and stroke, and carefully examine the effects of potential medicines. These studies often involve animals, usually mice. We’ve teamed up with The National Centre for the Replacement Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to design new research methods that do not involve animals. This project aims to reduce the use of animals in the study of blood clot formation and treatment in arteries. The researchers aim to re-create the conditions inside diseased human arteries in the lab, as close to the real thing as possible. They will use human blood, flowing through a synthetic blood vessel populated with human artery cells. They will compare results of experiments using this method with the current best methods to ensure it works well, or better. By developing and validating this method, they hope to create a technique that can be adopted by teams around the UK and the world. This could significantly cut the number of animals used in this important research area.
Project details
| Grant amount | £90,000 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Fellowships |
| Application type | PhD Studentship |
| Start Date | 01 October 2019 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | FS/18/66/34224 |
| Status | In Progress |
