Supervisor: Inês Sequeira 

Project Short Summary 

The oral mucosa is a remarkable tissue that heals faster than skin and without scarring, making it a powerful model for uncovering the mechanisms behind regeneration. We are particularly interested in how fibroblasts coordinate this process. We combine single-cell and spatial omics with live-imaging tools to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie this unique scarless wound healing. By uncovering these differences, we hope to identify new strategies to improve wound healing and reduce scarring. 

Visit the Sequeira Lab page to learn more about the group.

Supervisor: Sophia Maschalidi 

Project Short Summary 

Efferocytosis—the process by which phagocytes recognize and clear apoptotic cells—is essential for resolving inflammation and maintaining tissue integrity. This PhD will investigate how phagocytes perform efferocytosis within their native skin environment and how enhancing this process improves repair. Using single‑cell and spatial multi‑omics, genetic efferocytosis models, and human microphysiological wound systems, the project will map dynamic transcriptomic, interactomic and epigenomic responses. By defining mechanisms that fail in chronic wounds, including those linked to diabetes, it will identify strategies to boost efferocytosis and accelerate regeneration. 

Visit the Maschalidi Lab page to learn more about the group.

Supervisor: Carolina Trenado-Yuste 

Project Short Summary 

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. As a highly vascularized tissue, the breast hosts diverse microbial communities shaped by factors such as diet and breastfeeding, which may influence tumor progression and treatment outcomes. This project investigates how bacterial colonization affects tumor growth and invasion using engineered breast microtumors, to determine whether the breast tumor microbiome can serve as a biomarker for disease progression. 

Visit the Trenado-Yuste Lab page to learn more about the group.

Supervisor: Estibaliz Gómez-de-Mariscal 

Project Short Summary 

This project tackles the fundamental challenge of understanding how cells adapt to the microenvironment by linking intracellular organization with cell function. For this, quantitative live-cell microscopy methods enabling the observation and reconstruction of intracellular dynamics will first be developed. These methodologies will then be applied to investigate cellular states during pathological migration. This PhD project aims to build a highly multidisciplinary biomedical profile combining advanced bioimage analysis, live-cell microscopy, machine learning and cell biology. 

Visit the Gómez-de-Mariscal Lab page to learn more about the group.

Supervisor: Leslie Rubio Rodríguez-Kirby 

Project Short Summary 

LANDSCAPE-MS seeks to elucidate the neuroimmune mechanisms underlying progressive multiple sclerosis by integrating cutting-edge spatial multi-omic technologies with functional experimental approaches. This program aims to map cellular states, interactions, and inflammatory signaling across spatial compartments with high resolution, uncover long-range cross-compartmental propagation pathways, thereby refining our mechanistic understanding and enabling the identification of targeted therapeutic strategies for improved intervention and disease modification. 

Supervisor: Matt Franklyn 

Project Short Summary  

Guided by the lab’s catalog of satellite-binding transcription factors, the student will investigate the functional connections between satellite repeats and ribosomal DNA. Our preliminary data suggest that the satellite-associated proteome impacts ribosomal DNA transcription. Using a combination of microscopy, targeted proteomics, and satellite DNA manipulation, the student will mechanistically examine the regulation of ribosome biogenesis via satellite repeats in the contexts of stem cell biology and oncogenesis.