Staff profile
Charlotte Malpass
Research Postgraduate (PhD)
Affiliation |
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Research Postgraduate (PhD) in the Department of Biosciences |
Biography
I recently graduated from the University of Warwick with an Integrated Master’s in Biomedical Sciences. My Master’s project focused on TRPM2 cation channels and their role in alleviating Rheumatoid Arthritis pain, combining histopathological assessments and signalling pathway analysis. This experience fuelled my interest in the cellular mechanisms of somatosensory biology and the complex age-related processes that govern cell fate. I am excited to elevate my academic journey through a PhD, as my ambitions to uncover novel challenges presents an opportunity to contribute to this field and build on the skills I developed during my Master’s.
This PhD project will investigate the dynamics of signalling pathways in intestinal stem cells (ISCs) during aging. ISCs play a crucial role in maintaining tissue homeostasis, but aging disrupts this balance, impairing their function. Although many of the regulatory signals have been identified, the temporal dynamics and interactions remain poorly understood. Using Drosophila ISCs as a model system, alongside live intravital confocal imaging and deep learning-based image processing, we will explore how pathway interactions change with age, to test whether altering signalling dynamics can shift cell fate and restore homeostasis.