Uncovering The Nanoscale Biophysics of Cutaneous Fibrosis

Using state-of-the-art mechano-structural imaging, the PhD student will investigate the ECM biophysics and fibroblast behaviour in regenerating skin, with an unprecedented molecular resolution which will enable new anti-scarring therapies. The project will test the hypothesis that the ECM biophysics fundamentally controls the biological fibroblast response in wound regeneration and scarring.

Pathological fibrotic scarring of the skin affects >100 million people every year and conditions related to organ fibrosis contribute to 45% of death worldwide. Fibrotic progression is believed to be crucially influenced by coupled alterations in biophysics of the collagen-rich skin extracellular matrix (ECM) and fibroblast behaviour [1,2], but the fundamental mechanisms have not been quantified. Understanding these mechanisms will help develop effective targeted therapies for fibrosis (none exist yet) and new biomarkers for early detection. Our interdisciplinary supervisory team has shown how high-brilliance synchrotron X-ray imaging can uncover the biophysical response of the collagen fibrillar network in the ECM [3,4] and an unprecedented heterogeneity in fibroblast response in fibrosis [5].