Translational Medicine Studentships 2026
For Translational Medicine studentships, students apply for a specific project.
Projects have been designed by supervisors from Warwick with an NHS partner:
Investigating the mechanisms by which Staphylococcus aureus causes chronic skin abscesses
Professor Meera Unnikrishnan (Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick)
Dr. Tang Shim (Consultant Dermatologist, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire)
Skin and soft tissue infections are a significant burden to global healthcare systems. Most are caused by the pathogenic bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, which is highly resistant to commonly used antibiotics (MRSA). Chronic or recurring staphylococcal skin infections are particularly hard to treat. However, our understanding of the bacterial and host factors that sustain chronic infections remains poor. Our previous studies using ex vivo and in vivo infection models show that the bacterial type VII system plays a role in skin infections by modulating the host response to infection. The involvement of the bacterial type VII system in human skin infections however remains unclear. In this exciting PhD project, the student will isolate bacterial strains from skin abscesses of patients with chronic infections and identify changes in protein expression, including those expressed by type VII genes. These will enable the identification of specific immune and bacterial pathways that control infection and contribute to the development of new therapeutic and prophylactic strategies for the treatment of chronic skin infections.
Exploring unconventional immune cells as clinical biomarkers of viral infection and graft rejection in renal transplantation
Associate Professor Martin Davey (Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick)
Dr Lisa Berry (University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire)
Professor Nithya Krishnan (University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire)
Dr Adam Pattinson (University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire)
End-stage renal failure represents a critical public health challenge in the UK. Kidney transplantation remains the preferred treatment choice. However, despite advances in surgical techniques and immunosuppressive regimens, graft rejection occurs in approximately 20% of patients within the first year. The vital use of immunosuppression transplant patients also increases the risks of opportunistic infections, such as Cytomegalovirus (CMV), which is a major contributor to graft rejection and increased mortality. Consequently, there is growing interest in new biomarkers which enable earlier and more precise detection of CMV infection and graft dysfunction. This PhD project will investigate a poorly understood group of immune cells, called γδ T cells, which are highly responsive to CMV infection. Using longitudinal blood samples from patients undergoing kidney transplants, the student will use innovative immunological techniques to study γδ T cell interactions and how these interactions change with CMV infection and graft rejection. This information will help to develop new clinical diagnostics and enable new approaches for the treatment of renal transplant patients.