Ex vivo electrophysiology and calcium measurement of uterine smooth muscle samples
Eligible for funding* | PhD
The uterus is a smooth muscle organ that can contract spontaneously, without neural or hormonal stimulation. Ex vivo (out-of-body) experimentation set-ups provide useful insight into how healthy muscle contracts, help to determine baseline function, and assess variations in the case of clinical conditions (such as endometriosis, adenomyosis and heavy menstrual bleeding).
Muscle contraction involves a complex series of chemical, electrical and mechanical fluctuations at a cellular level, which coordinates to create tissue-level mechanical activity. This project consists of developing and applying calcium measurement techniques on samples of rat uterine smooth muscle and incorporating these measurements with existing electrophysiology and motion tracking techniques.
Desired skills
An undergraduate or master’s degree in engineering, physics, physiology or equivalent is required. This project will have elements of bioinstrumentation development, tissue experimentation and advanced signal processing techniques. Experience with MATLAB and/or python is desirable but not required.
Contact and supervisors
For more information or to apply for this project, please follow the link to the supervisor below:
Contact/Main supervisor
Supporting Supervisor(s)
- Leo Cheng
- Alys Clark
Eligible for funding*
This project is eligible for funding but is subject to eligibility criteria & funding availability.
Page expires: 12 March 2026