Microfluidics with fluid walls for cancer and neuronal research

Project overview

The studentship is based in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford and the studentship time will be shared between engineering and biology labs.

Micro-environments fabricated with fluid walls represent a new direction in the generation of biocompatible, fully accessible, microfluidic systems which enables unique experiments with living cells. The approach has been successfully demonstrated across a multitude of biological applications with a diverse range of multidisciplinary collaborators; applications include cell migration, chemotaxis, wounding, cell line development, single-cell cloning and microscale perfusion. Articles are published with “open access” and hence are freely available.

This project will advance the engineering understanding of fluid walls by developing, and experimentally validating, models for prediction of flows that vary with time due to changing interfacial properties. The project will also develop and implement microenvironments for live cell based experiments with biology groups at Oxford. These collaborations will focus on developing in-vitro experiments to recapitulate 1) microenvironments for bone cancer and 2) neuron interactions via axons in the brain. 

Before applying for this position student should contact the intended supervisor Prof. E. Walsh at edmond.walsh@eng.ox.ac.uk.

To apply for this studentship, candidates should send the following documents to postgraduate.studies@eng.ox.ac.uk:

• CV
• Covering letter (explaining your suitability for the study and a summary of your experience to date)
• Contact details for two academic or professional referees

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Prof. Edmond Walsh [edmond.walsh@eng.ox.ac.uk]. Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.