Exploring how chemical and nanostructural functionalities of short designed peptide hydrogels control early host immune responses

该项目将通过探索如何控制短的、设计的、抗微生物的多肽水凝胶的早期免疫反应这一新的挑战，在生命科学-物理接口中开拓新的工作方式。到目前为止，这一领域的工作是由过去10年的物理研究主导的，发表了20多份期刊。为了进一步开发这些自组装的生物材料，并寻求它们在再生医学和药物输送方面的应用，非常有必要培训来自物理科学和核心生物科学(细胞生物化学、生理学、免疫学)的新技能，以及组织工程这一更小众的领域-这是BBSRC几十年来一直倡导的主题。这个项目将训练新的博士生理解免疫反应是如何在分子、细胞和生理水平上影响生理和病理生理过程的。学生还将发展与NC3R(即研究中动物的替换、改进和减少)相关的意识和技能，以及与BBSRC在生物技术和测试系统开发中对非动物技术的承诺有关的关键技能，以更好地预测人类和动物的反应，以及化学品和新纳米结构实体的环境影响。

This project will exploit new ways of working in the life science-physics interface by engaging in the new challenge of exploring how to control early immune responses of short, designed, antimicrobial peptide hydrogels. This area of work has so far been led by physical research over the past 10 years with over 20 journal publications. To further develop these self-assembled bionanomaterials and seek their applications in regenerative medicine and drug delivery, it is highly necessary to train new skills from both physical sciences and core biosciences (cell biochemistry, physiology, immunity), in conjunction with a more niche area of tissue engineering - a theme that has been advocated by BBSRC for decades. This project will train the new PhD student to understand how immune responses act at molecular, cellular and physiological levels to influence physiological and pathophysiological processes. The student will also develop awareness and skills relating to the NC3Rs (i.e. Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research) as well as key skills pertaining to the BBSRC commitment to non-animal technologies in the development of biotechnologies and testing systems that better predict human and animal responses, and the environmental effects of chemicals and new nanostructure entities.