LOCATION:

John Radcliffe Hospital, Level 5 and 6, Headley Way, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9DU

DPHIL START DATE

October 2020

PROJECT TITLE

An exploration of post-transplantation γδ T cell phenotype and function

SUPERVISORS

Dr Joanna Hester and Professor Fadi Issa 

Generating a granular description of immunological rejection following transplantation is key to developing novel immunosuppressive strategies. During my DPhil I aim to characterise where a subset of unconventional lymphocytes—γδ T cells—are mechanistically situated in transplant rejection in order to modulate their cascade through targeted intervention. γδ T cells are of particular interest in this setting due to their MHC-unrestricted recognition of antigen, promulgation of damaging downstream immune responses, and functional heterogeneity. I plan to use several techniques during my DPhil including in vitro assays, bulk and single cell NGS, and in situ transcriptomics to longitudinally describe the γδ T cell compartment following kidney transplantation. My work is generously supported by both a Medical Research Council Clinical Research Training Fellowship, and a Royal College of Surgeons Research Fellowship. 

Alongside my research I enjoy medical education. I currently work as a Clinical Teaching Associate at Exeter College providing tutorials for medical students, am a divisional examiner for Medical Sciences at the Oxford Learning Centre, and give regular seminars and laboratory workshops in anatomy and paediatrics. I have supervised small undergraduate and masters-level projects in the past, many of which have gone on to be presented or published, and am always very happy to be emailed to discuss collaboration or supervision requests.