Current Vacancies
Genesis Research Trust Studentship
A 3-year studentship is available starting 4th January 2012, though an earlier start date may be possible. The studentship is funded by the Genesis Research Trust and provides fees and a stipend. The position is restricted to UK residents or EU applicants.
Applicants should send a curriculum vitae and the names of two academic referees to Dr Aylin Hanyaloglu at a.hanyaloglu@imperial.ac.uk by the 19th September 2011. Short-listed candidates will be invited to visit the department for an interview in early October.
Supervisors: Dr. Aylin Hanyaloglu, Prof. Ilpo Huhtaniemi, http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/people/a.hanyaloglu
Divisional web address: http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/surgeryandcancer/divisionofcancer/
Project Details
Title: Mechanisms regulating cell signalling of G protein-coupled receptors and its impact on reproductive health.
Precise control of cellular communication and signalling are crucial for normal development and fertility in humans. These physiological processes are controlled by a cascade of cellular events initiated by specific hormones, many of which are activate specific G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in target tissues. GPCRs represent the largest family of signalling receptors in nature. Their diversity means they play key physiological roles and their dysfunction underlies many pathological conditions, thus they are the focus of many drug design programs due to their primary biological and clinical importance. The group’s objective is to understand the fundamental mechanisms regulating hormone signalling, via GPCRs. As disrupting the regulation of GPCRs in humans underlies many diseases including reproductive disorders and pregnancy complications, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, ovarian cancer, infertility, recurrent miscarriage and pre-term births, a crucial goal is to understand the consequences of these molecular processes on both normal physiological function and in disease.
This project aims to the cellular machinery involved in defining luteinising hormone (LH) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) receptor (LH/CG-R) signal regulation. This GPCR is essential in maintaining normal human reproduction by regulating ovulation, spermatogenesis and maintenance of early pregnancy (via actions of the pregnancy hormone hCG). hCG and the LH/CG-R may also play additional roles in the uterus during pregnancy including regulation of embryo implantation and immune responses of the mother. Our initial data, in collaboration with Prof. Jan Brosens at Warwick University, suggests unique signalling and regulatory properties of the LH/hCG receptor in normal uterine endometrium and that this may be perturbed in endometrium from women with recurrent miscarriage. The project involves the use of a variety of molecular and cell biological techniques including cloning, primary cell culture, flow cytometry, confocal and super-resolution microscopy, and biophysical methods such as BRET and FRET.
