Platelets (small circulating blood cells) are involved in blood clotting to prevent excessive bleeding, however, their inappropriate activation under pathological conditions leads to thrombosis resulting in major cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. Our recent achievements in platelet research include the discovery of a new phenomenon of intercellular communication between platelets through gap junctions and its importance for the synchronised functions of these cells within blood clots. Furthermore, we have investigated the significance of Eph-ephrin mediated contact-dependent and -independent signalling in the regulation of initial platelet activation and the architecture of thrombus. Although platelets play an important role in the maintenance of haemostasis and thrombosis, due to their high numbers in the circulation, they act as sentinels through controlling inflammatory responses. Therefore, we are currently investigating the orchestrated functions of a range of surface receptors present on the blood cells such as platelets, monocytes and neutrophils, and endothelial cells on the inner lining of blood vessels in the regulation of multicellular interactions and their significance in the progression of inflammatory responses.
Furthermore, with the support of specialists in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry, we are involved in the isolation and characterisation of therapeutically valuable constituents from herbal plants to modulate platelet reactivity under pathological conditions. Likewise, we also apply synthetic chemistry to generate cell-target specific molecules in order to control thrombosis and inflammatory responses.
Overall, a project is available within our laboratory either to determine the functions of a receptor and elucidate its signalling mechanisms within platelets, or to isolate/synthesise and functionally characterise therapeutically valuable components to control the cellular functions under various pathophysiological settings. The PhD student will have splendid opportunities to learn a broad spectrum of techniques in the field of cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology and pharmaceutical chemistry.
Students with their own financial support are welcome to contact us anytime.
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