Single-cell transcriptomics of macrophage activation and metabolic reprogramming
6 weeks (full time, 37 hrs per week, £13.45 per hour, £700 consumables, £500 student accommodation bursary)
Macrophage activation is fundamental to antimicrobial immunity and inflammatory resolution, yet the metabolic mechanisms governing these processes remain incompletely understood. Our recent work using a Leishmania donovani infection model identified LPCAT2 (lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 2) as a key regulator of macrophage membrane remodeling and inflammatory responses. We demonstrated that LPCAT2 pharmacological inhibition reduces inflammatory marker expression in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). This project will leverage cutting-edge single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from BMDMs to dissect the role of LPCAT2 in macrophage activation pathways. The student will analyse our unpublished scRNA-seq datasets to identify LPCAT2-dependent transcriptional programs and validate key findings using flow cytometry and functional assays. The project will involve computational analysis of scRNA-seq data to map LPCAT2-regulated gene networks and pathway enrichment analysis to identify metabolic and inflammatory modules.
Expected outcomes include defining the mechanistic role of LPCAT2 in macrophage immunometabolism and identifying potential therapeutic targets for inflammatory diseases. The student will gain expertise in single-cell genomics, flow cytometry, and macrophage biology while contributing to a manuscript in preparation. Students will need to find their own accommodation and be expected to present their findings orally at a research day in York on 08th September 2026.