Development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies for coronaviruses
A fully funded PhD studentship project in partnership with the Pirbright Institute.
Start date
1 October 2022Duration
3.5 yearsApplication deadline
Funding information
Funding includes stipend, home registration fees and a research grant. Note that due to the way this project is funded, an international student appointed to this project would be required to pay 50% of the difference between the normal registration fee for home and international students. This amounts to approximately £9500 for the academic year 2022-23, with annual incremental increases for subsequent years.
Supervised by
About
Respiratory viruses are amongst the greatest threat to global health, with coronaviruses (CoVs) causing three major human epidemics since 2003, including the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. While vaccines remain the best strategy to prevent COVID-19, neutralising monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) maybe useful for treating vulnerable populations before or after exposure to SARS-CoV-2. To date, most research efforts for therapeutic use of mAbs have focussed on Spike (S) specific neutralising antibodies and there are a handful of products already authorised for human use.
Most therapeutic mAbs have been tested pre-clinically in small animal models, but this is not always predictive of outcome in humans. There is, therefore, a need for a large animal model in which mAbs selected on the basis of in vitro assays can be further studied to help in selecting promising mAbs targets and determining how best to administer them in clinical trials. Pigs may provide such a model, we have already shown this specie to be very useful for testing influenza mAbs (1, 2). They are large animals physiologically, anatomically, and immunologically more similar to humans than small animals (3, 4). Pigs are natural hosts for several CoVs with porcine respiratory CoV (PRCV) exhibiting common features with SARS-CoV-2. Other porcine or related CoVs are a zoonotic threat, with a novel Alphacoronavirus and porcine Deltacoronavirus being detected in humans. We have established an in vivo porcine PRCV model in which lung pathology resembles the human (5).
In this project, the successful candidate will isolate PRCV specific mAbs, characterise their specificity, functional activity in vitro and test their therapeutic utility in vivo. This will give further insights into CoV infections and how to generate and administer novel efficacious therapies against CoVs in humans.
Eligibility criteria
Open to any UK or international candidates.
A first or upper second-class honours degree from the UK (or equivalent qualification from international Institutions) or masters degree in a relevant subject area.
English language requirements:
IELTS Academic: 6.5 or above with 6 in each individual category (or equivalent qualification from other agencies).
How to apply
Applications should be submitted via the online application portal for Biosciences and Medicine PhDs. In addition to your formal application, please also email Dr Elma Tchilian (elma.tchilian@pirbright.ac.uk) or Professor Christine Rollier (c.rollier@surrey.ac.uk) with your application.
Studentship FAQs
Read our studentship FAQs to find out more about applying and funding.
Application deadline
Contact details
Dr Elma Tchilian (elma.tchilian@pirbright.ac.uk) or Professor Christine Rollier (c.rollier@surrey.ac.uk)
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