Dr George Ashdown

Supervisor Details

Contact Details

Dr George Ashdown

Scientific Background

Research Interests

I am a Research Fellow at Aston University, within AIME where I will lead a research programme studying host-pathogen interactions - using advanced imaging and 'omics techniques to target intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Research Groups

Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence (AIME)

Supervision Style

In three words or phrases: Collaborative, technology-driven, inclusive.

Provision of Training

By the end of your PhD you will be able to carry out a range of techniques, ending in your independence.

I believe in testing new ideas and methods to generate novel results.

Beyond the laboratory, scientific communication and presentation skills are equally important – these can be honed through attendance of internal meetings and external conferences.

Progression Monitoring and Management

I believe in the value of project ownership but encourage informal discussion of day-to-day troubleshooting, particularly early on in a project.

Meeting frequency will depend on progress and the student’s capacity for independence, these meetings will be used to discuss methods, data and future plans.

Communication

I believe informal discussions for day-to-day details can be enough, with more structured meetings for planning larger project goals.

I believe in open, honest communication on any issues impacting your ability to complete your work.

PhD Students can expect scheduled meetings with me:

In a group meeting	In year 1 of PhD study	In year 2 of PhD study	In year 3 of PhD study
At least once per fortnight	At least once per week	At least once per fortnight	At least once per month

These meetings will mainly be face to face, and I am usually contactable for an instant response (if required) on every working day.

Working Pattern

Certain tasks in my lab need to occur at set times, and students need to be able to commit to a rota/timetable shared with other members of the team.

Notice Period for Feedback

I need at least 2 weeks' notice to provide feedback on written work of up to 5000 words.

MIBTP Project Details

Current Projects (2025-26)

Primary supervisor for:

Targeting intracellular bacteria with novel lipid-based drug delivery systems

See the PhD Opportunities section to see if this project is currently open for applications via MIBTP.

Please Note: The main page lists projects via BBSRC Research Theme(s) quoted and then relevant Topic(s).

Targeting intracellular bacteria with novel lipid-based drug delivery systems

Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Alan Goddard

University of Registration: Aston University

BBSRC Research Themes: Understanding the Rules of Life (Immunology, Microbiology)

Project Outline

Intracellular pathogens use host cells for protection, representing some of the most challenging infectious agents to detect and treat. Of all intracellular pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the deadliest, causing 1.3 million deaths in 2022, and infecting 1.8 billion people globally. Mtb’s success is partly driven by its ability to reprogram the macrophage host to form an environment conducive to replication and eventually transmission.

Current treatments for Mtb infection rely on prolonged antibiotic treatments, lasting several months, or years for antibiotic resistant strains – which are on the rise. Targeted therapeutic delivery offers several advantages over current antibiotic regimens, potentially reducing treatment times and associated toxic side effects. Additionally, host-directed therapies can negate the issue of antimicrobial resistance and strain diversity completely.

This project will utilise the modulated plasma membrane proteome of macrophages infected with Mtb. Due to their plasma membrane localisation, these protein biomarkers represent accessible candidates for detection of intracellular bacteria, and targeted delivery of therapeutics.

Through lipid-based drug delivery systems, such as functionalised lipid nanoparticles, the project will optimise preferential targeting for infected host cell or bacterial clearance.

Objectives and Methods

This project will test lipid-based delivery systems for improved targeting of infected macrophages, functionalising these based on hits from methods optimised to isolate plasma membrane proteins. As abundance may not correlate with function, the project will further validate the spatiotemporal localisation of these membrane proteins using super-resolution microscopy.

After validating protein hits, lipid-based drug delivery systems will be functionalised against these proteins to test the preferential targeting of Mtb infected cells. These lipid-based systems will then be loaded with either host-directed or bacteria-directed therapies.

Host directed therapies offer a route to circumvent the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance. pro-apoptotic treatments can be delivered into infected cells, clearing both host and bacteria in a controlled manner compared to the pathogen driven inflammatory cell death pathways. Alternatively, macrophages can be reprogrammed back to a more inflammatory phenotype to enable bacterial clearance.

Mtb-directed therapies, delivered directly into infected macrophages, offer a targeted approach to tip the host-pathogen balance in favour of the host. These antimicrobial treatments can include antibiotics, to test if a targeted approach improves drug efficacy, or siRNA technologies against Mtb virulence factors (e.g. ESAT-6).

Using imaging and RNA extraction methods of intracellular Mtb will lead to an understanding of how host-directed treatments affect both the bacteria and its host.

Overall, this project aims to combine bespoke methods to improve detection and targeting of intracellular bacteria, using the infected hosts own plasma membrane signature.