Within the LipidBRIGHT doctoral network, you will pursue a PhD in Nutritional Immunology, bridging pharmaceutical and nutritional sciences. You will use in vitro human mucosal immune models to study barrier-immune interactions driving allergic asthma. Specifically, you will study the efficacy of n-3 LCPUFA in combination with vitamins A and D as adjunct therapy to corticosteroids, aiming to protect against type 2 airway inflammation and improve asthma control.
Your jobLow grade inflammation affects a growing population in western countries, leading to an increase in immune disorders such as autoimmunity and allergies, including asthma, which affects 10% of adults in industrialized countries. Type 2 asthma cannot be cured but it can be treated with inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) as controller medication. Some asthmatics have reduced serum levels of n-3 LCPUFA, EPA and DHA, due to low intake or reduced FADS (fatty acid desaturase) enzyme activity. Furthermore, serum vitamin A and D levels are generally low in the western population, while these vitamins can promote tolerogenic immune modulation and/or barrier protection. This project aims to highlight the relevance of these nutrients in managing pulmonary inflammation and therapy guidance, using state-of-the-art human
in vitro mucosal-immune cell models.
As a PhD candidate you will further develop bronchial epithelial barrier models and study their interaction with innate and adaptive immune cells, while assessing the anti-inflammatory and barrier protective effects of n-3 LCPUFA plus vitamin A/D as adjunct treatment to corticosteroids. You will present your results at national and international conferences in the fields of Nutrition, Allergy, Pulmonary disease and Pharmacology, reflecting the broad scientific scope of the project. Working across these areas makes this position challenging and highly relevant, as you will actively bridge these scientific fields! It will also allow you to highlight the strength of combining pharmaceutical and nutritional approaches, an opportunity which is often overlooked.
Within the Division of Pharmacology our research group has long-standing experience in the field of Nutritional Immunology, with established expertise of using n-3 LCPUFA for allergy prevention in vitro and in pre-clinical models.
This project is part of the European doctoral network
LipidBRIGHT, offering the opportunity to collaborate in a network of academic and non-academic partners that bridge clinical with basic research on lipids in chronic inflammatory disorders.