Development of a miniaturised bone organoid culture platform for high throughput pharmacological compound screening to identify bone anabolic compound

Worldwide, populations are aging. The risk of osteoporosis increases with age and currently ~200 million people are affected. Osteoporosis is characterised by bone weakening, resulting in fractures that reduce patients' quality of life and independence and can be life-threatening. Therapeutic drugs that can increase bone mass are badly needed.

High-throughput screening (HTS) is the proven cornerstone of drug discovery. To identify compounds that translate into effective therapeutic drugs, HTS-assays must be as biologically relevant as possible. We have developed a biologically relevant bone cell-culture system.

By combining cutting-edge biology and materials science knowledge from the University of Birmingham (3D bio-printing, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and cell imaging technologies) with a placement at a state-of-the-art HTS robotics facility, you will miniaturise and optimise this system and use it to screen novel compound libraries to search for active molecules that could become the next generation of therapeutics.

This PhD project will provide training in cutting-edge "omics" technologies including metabolomics and proteomics. In addition, you will develop expertise in bioinformatics/coding, materials science, cell biology and high-throughput screening (HTS) robotics automation platforms. The project is part of a doctoral training programme, ensuring broader training and transferable skills are embedded in the PhD experience.