Co-supervisors: Dr Sudip Paul and Prof Peter Meikle
Our immune system relies heavily on lymphocytes, particularly T- and B-cells, to coordinate adaptive immune responses, interact with innate immune cells, and establish long-term immune memory. Emerging evidence suggests that cellular lipid composition plays an important role in regulating immune cell function by influencing membrane organisation, receptor signalling, metabolism, and survival. Ether lipids, including plasmalogens, are a unique class of phospholipids that are highly enriched in immune cells and possess important antioxidant and membrane-modulating properties. Reduced ether lipid levels have been associated with ageing, metabolic disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and impaired immune function.
However, despite these associations, the role of ether lipids in regulating lymphocyte biology remains largely unknown.
Innovative approaches
At the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, our research aims to determine how modulation of ether lipid levels influences T- and B-cell function, activation, survival, and stress adaptation. Using state-of-the-art lipidomics, metabolomics, flow cytometry, and molecular biology approaches, this project will establish novel ether lipid-deficient and ether lipid-enriched lymphocyte models to uncover the mechanisms by which ether lipids regulate adaptive immune responses. Understanding these pathways may identify new therapeutic strategies to improve immune function during ageing, infection, and chronic disease.
Research objectives
- Determine the role of ether lipids in lymphocyte function
- Establish ether lipid-deficient and ether lipid-enriched models using immortalised T- and B-cell lines and primary human lymphocytes.
- Determine how ether lipid modulation influences T- and B-cell activation, proliferation, differentiation, cytokine production, and antibody responses.
- Investigate the role of ether lipids in lymphocyte survival and stress adaptation
- Determine whether ether lipid depletion increases susceptibility to oxidative stress and regulated cell death pathways, including ferroptosis.
- Assess whether ether lipid enrichment enhances lymphocyte resilience, survival, and functional responses under cellular stress.
- Define the molecular mechanisms linking ether lipids to lymphocyte biology
- Investigate how ether lipid modulation alters membrane organisation, immune receptor signalling, cellular metabolism, and oxidative stress responses.
- Identify lipidomic and molecular signatures associated with altered T- and B-cell function.
Your role and opportunities
You will contribute to a cutting-edge research program investigating the fundamental role of ether lipids in adaptive immunity. Throughout the project, you will:
- Establish and characterise ether lipid-deficient and ether lipid-enriched lymphocyte models.
- Perform experiments using immortalised T-cell and B-cell models together with primary human T- and B-lymphocytes.
- Learn advanced laboratory techniques including cell culture, flow cytometry, lipidomics, proteomics, qPCR, fluorescence microscopy, and functional immune assays.
- Analyse lipidomic and molecular datasets using bioinformatics and statistical approaches.
- Contribute to scientific publications and present findings at national and international conferences.