Obesity and Endocrinology PhD / MPhil / MD

Overview

We have over 100 staff creating new insights into bioscience, epidemiology, health issues, patients, lifestyles and care.

The Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease provides a powerful focus for understanding the many variables - from bioscience to social - that influence ageing and chronic disease in people throughout their lives. The key principle behind our research is the recognition over the last decade that to elucidate cell, organ or organismal function in health and disease requires an integrated approach utilising the best available cutting-edge technologies. Our research activity ranges from molecules to population and from laboratory to bedside.

Techniques include functional neuroimaging of appetite control in endocrine disease in collaboration with LiMRIC, real-time measurement of appetite and studies of liver and muscle metabolism - including euglycaemic clamp studies - in obesity, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The group also conducts clinical trials and has close links with a number of research groups in Africa. In veterinary practice and research, there are parallel interests in obesity and metabolic disease in companion animals, horses and cattle and basic research models of human disease. Pre-clinical research focuses on adipocyte biology, with particular interests in the endocrine products of adipose tissue, and has close links with the clinical groups.

We offer MPhil, PhD, MD and post-doctoral training programmes that provide exposure to the wide-range of disciplines on offer. Many of our students are also recognised for the role they play in communicating the science to the wider community. On completing their PhDs, many of our graduates go on to take competitive post-doctoral positions in the UK or overseas, or elect to take career paths in the NHS, government or the commercial sector.

Delivering this kind of return on investment has helped us to attract solid funding, with partners including Wellcome Trust, UK Research Councils, NIH (USA), Unilever and GSK. With these extensive in-house research facilities and strong UK and global academic partners, we are well-placed to continue our mission and realise our ambitious plans in the ageing and chronic disease field.

Our research interests

We particularly welcome research proposals that match those of our researchers, including:

• Pathophysiology and treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes
• Insulin resistance and insulin signalling
• Inflammatory adipokines in health and disease
• The influence of sedentary behaviour on health.