Via www.findaphd.com. A PhD is available in the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen to study "Chemicals, signals and the developing gonad". Signalling pathways, such as hedgehog and Wnt pathways, are important in gonad development and gonad function. While there are both similarities and differences between mammalian and avian sex determination and gonadal development, the developing chick in the egg is much more accessible for experimentation than the mouse. We have shown that human fetuses exposed in the womb to maternal cigarette smoke chemicals exhibit alterations in gonadal gene expression. These findings supporting studies of the adult offspring in terms of impaired development, such as increased rates of testis maldescent. However, it is difficult to prove a causal linkage in the human and an animal model is required. This project will use the second trimester human fetus and the chick embryo in order to:
a. characterise normal gonadal development in the chicken embryo.
b. investigate the effects of cigarette smoke chemicals and other environmentally-relevant chemical mixtures on chick gonadal development. c. characterise the expression of human fetal homologues of chick genes that are affected by exposure to chemicals. The deadline for applications is
30 November 2007. More information is available at the link below.
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