Oxidation of tear film by atmospheric pollutants - development of dry eye disease.

The studentship seeks to investigate the interaction between atmospheric pollutants and the aqueous lipid covered layer protecting mammalian eyes. Eyes are one of the most exposed mucosal interfaces on mammals and oxidation of the film may result in dry eye disease. We wish to demonstrate that partially deuterated proxy tear film mixtures and real human tear eye films have the correct structure at the air-water interface to be used in experiments exploring how the morphology of the film changes with exposure to the common indoor and outdoor atmospheric oxidant ozone.

You will be based at Royal Holloway but frequently travel to use the enviable neutron facilities at ISIS(Oxfordshire) and the ILL(France). You will extract organic material from tears with ophthalmic expert from Manchester school of ophthalmy and Pharmacy and make proxy deuterated tear films and study them at the air-water interface interacting with gas-phase atmospheric oxidants such as ozone.

Neutron reflection studies will determine the morphology and thickness of the organic material, allowing an assessment of its biological lifetime and resistance whilst it is oxidised. The fitting of neutron reflectometry data for biological films is complex and fun and will require some advanced modelling in python.

You will train in advanced techniques to study a new interface between tear and atmospheric pollutants. The Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory will allow you to interact with many world-leading scientists. You will be trained in soft matter chemistry, physics of neutron reflection, chemical extraction of biological materials, atmospheric sampling and atmospheric modelling achieving a PhD with modelling, health and laboratory components.