Doktorander/utbildningsplats

Sahlgrenska akademin utlyser doktorandplatser med placering vid institutionen för biomedicin, institutionen för medicin och institutionen för neurovetenskap och fysiologi.
Doktorandplatserna avser två års utbildningsbidrag och två års doktorandanställning, alternativt fyra års doktorandanställning, och beräknas leda fram till doktorsexamen.
För mer information och ansökningsblankett se: http://www.sahlgrenska.gu.se/doktorandportalen/doktor_fran_start_till_mal/soka_doktorandplats/

http://www.sahlgrenska.gu.se/doktorandportalen/Doktor_Fran_start_till_mal/doktorandplatser/


Characterization of Sex Steroid Signaling in Bone

Application deadline: 2010-12-08

Description of the research project
The prevalence of osteoporosis is increasing in the Western world.Estrogen exerts clear beneficial effects on the skeleton.However, it is well-known that estrogen treatment is associated with an increased risk of other disorders including breast cancer and stroke.Thus, it would be beneficial to develop a bone-specific estrogen treatment.To achieve this, we will characterize the estrogen signaling pathways in bone versus other tissues (Projects 1 and 2).In project 1 we aim to identify intracellular estrogen signaling pathways with a specific influence on bone but not other tissues.The primary target cell(s) of the ER-mediated effect in the skeleton will be determined in project 2.
Sex steroids, mainly estrogen but also testosterone, influence fracture risk both via an effect on bone density and bone dimensions.Using the power of prospective meta-analyses of Genome-Wide Association (GWA) data from large well-characterized cohorts, we will identify genetic variants with an influence on serum sex steroid levels (project 3), bone density (project 4) and bone dimensions (project 5).Identified genome-wide significant regions will be further characterized by (i), deep sequencing, (ii) expression analyses, (iii) in vitro functional studies and (iv) in vivo gene targeting.In addition, gene-serum sex steroid interactions will be analyzed to determine if the influence of sex steroids on bone is modulated by the identified genetic variants.These genetic epidemiology studies will identify novel risk markers and drug targets for osteoporosis and other sex steroid-related diseases.