Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal and rapidly progressive disease with a 5-year survival rate of 37% if untreated. Though the pathology in PAH begins with an obstructive vasculopathy in the lungs, the prognosis is mainly determined by the right ventricular (RV) function.

Another important fact in PAH is the sex paradox: although PAH occurs ~4 times more frequently in females than in males, females with PAH have better RV function and thus greater survival rates than the males with PAH. Currently no effective medication specifically targets the RV.

The development of therapeutic drugs and treatment strategy for RV will improve the life quality and save the life of patients with PAH. Such development requires thorough understanding of the physiology, pathology, biology and biomechanics of the RV in PAH. However, currently the sex differences in RV physiology and biomechanics and the effects of biomechanics on RV function during the progression of PAH are not well understood.

This project will determine RV physiology, biomechanics and the effects of biomechanics on RV function during the progression of PAH.

We are seeking a highly-motivated PhD candidate starting from 1 October, 2025 to work on a project focused on right ventricular physiology and biomechanics in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The PhD candidate will be supervised by Dr Lian Tian (cardiovascular physiology: in vivo and in vitro studies) and Professor Will Shu (biofabrication and 3D-printed organs) within the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Strathclyde.

As a PhD student, you will be fully immersed in a dynamic research environment that fosters both national and international collaboration. You will gain skills including in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro experiments, data analysis, preparing posters and presentation in conferences, and writing peer-reviewed papers. You will have an opportunity to visit collaborator, Professor Gerhard A Holzapfel at Graz University of Technology to learn biomechanics testing skill.