PhD Position in EU Doctoral Network "PANDORA" – DC4

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description The position focuses on "Evaluating how complement dysregulation influences mononuclear phagocyte accumulation in AMD" within the MSCA Doctoral Network PANDORA (Discovering Pathomechanisms and Novel Drug Optimization for AMD). Subretinal mononuclear phagocytes (MPs) build up in the photoreceptor cell layer, a zone normally kept free of immune cells by the immunosuppressive retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). This build-up is a key driver of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). MPs include microglia and monocyte-derived inflammatory macrophages (MoM φ ). Our team has shown that activated MPs evade RPE-mediated clearance. We have also shown that the AMD-linked CFH 402H variant impairs the removal of subretinal MPs independently of its role in the complement system. How complement dysregulation contributes to immune cell accumulation in the subretinal space in AMD remains poorly understood. The PhD student will first map where complement cascade components are found in the human retina. Using multiplexed immunohistochemistry on post-mortem retinal sections from AMD donors and age-matched controls, the student will localise components of the classical, lectin and alternative pathways, their activation products, regulators (CFH and Factor H-related proteins) and receptors. These components will be mapped relative to subretinal MPs, the RPE, photoreceptors and drusen. The student will th