School of Health Sciences
[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.75)]Location: [/COLOR]Southampton General Hospital
Salary: £31,537 to £35,100 per annum - subject to bi-annual review due to exchange rates
Full Time - Fixed Term for 36 months
Closing Date: Friday 26 April 2019
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Reference: 1103819CF-R
Project: Identifying early changes in skin integrity using biomarkers and physical sensors.
A Marie Curie ITN Early Stage Researcher (ESR) position is available from June 2019 for 36 months. The position will be in the EU-Marie Sklodowska-Curie "Skin Tissue Integrity under Shear” (STINTS) project. The STINTS Innovation Training Network will provide multi-disciplinary research training in understanding the complex biomechanical and biochemical pathways leading to loss of skin integrity, following the exposure to prolonged pressure, friction and shear forces.
The project will represent one of 13 ESR positions located around Europe, which will specifically focus on the assessment of biomarkers sampled from the skin surface, which can monitor the status of loaded skin and soft tissues. These biomarkers will include sampling sebum and sweat non-invasively from the skin before, during and after mechanical insults caused by gravitational forces or the application of medical devices. Biomarkers will include tissue metabolites, inflammation and purine content. The aim of this research is to identify the temporal profiles of robust biomarkers, which can provide an early detection of skin damage and indicate the period in which tissues can fully recover following a range of mechanical-induced insults i.e. pressure, shear, friction. This will have important implications for a range of clinical scenarios where chronic wounds can develop from prolonged loading e.g. pressure ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, device related skin damage. The research will involve work in-vivo testing of human skin on a range of volunteers and the development of standard test methods utilizing appropriate analytical techniques for the biomarkers e.g. ELISA assays and High Performance Liquid Chromatography.
