Understanding how macrophages in the heart can become inflammatory or protective for cardiovascular disease.
Trevor Fidler, Professor
UC San Francisco
Applications for Fall 2025 are closed for this project.
We’re interested in identifying pathways which regulate macrophage function in atherosclerosis. In inflammatory sites like atheromas, macrophages accumulate, phagocytise necrotic cells, and uptake lipids leading to foam cell formation. Recent single-cell RNA sequencing has revealed that within these tissue macrophages can adopt multiple transcriptional states which can promote or suppress disease. We are currently utilizing CRISPR screening in in-vivo mice to discover pathways which can alter macrophages phenotypes in atheromas. This work may identify translationally relevant mechanisms of pathogenesis for novel therapeutic interventions.
Role: The undergraduate researcher will become familiar with laboratory techniques related to molecular biology, physiology, and cardiovascular diseases. Students will become proficient in laboratory techniques including histology, immunohistochemistry, microplate assays, qPCR, and general mousework. Eventually students will be expected to take ownership of their project, reading the literature to aid in designing new experiments, and understanding research concepts. We expect qualified students to be in lab ~12 hours a week and 2-3 days per week during the duration of this program. Depending on the workload, students can expect to contribute to both projects listed, which will provide the student a broader understanding of our research interests.
Qualifications: We are seeking to recruit undergraduate students who have taken upper-division coursework in cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, etc., and their associated labs. We are interested in students with excellent time management skills, and who are well-organized and able to understand experimental design. We expect students to have a basic understanding of commonly used molecular biology techniques that include Western Blot, PCR, and gel electrophoresis. We don't expect proficiency in these techniques, but students should be able to understand the mechanisms behind them. Sophomores and juniors are preferred. Currently, we seek to recruit 1 additional URAP student to the lab.
Please state in your application what qualities you have that set you apart from other students. This can be as general or as specific as you would like.
Hours: to be negotiated
Off-Campus Research Site: 555 Mission Bay Blvd. S. San Francisco, CA 94127
Related website: https://trevorfidler.ucsf.edu/fidler-lab