Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

Christology, that is, a theological understanding of who Christ is, is at the heart of Christian belief. This research project sets out to develop a Christology that engages in dialogue with the evolutionary history of humanity and current evolutionary theories about the natural world in general. Current debates in science and religion have failed to consider adequately the impact of evolutionary ideas on Christology, focusing almost exclusively on questions about the nature of God or, more rarely, on the Trinity. This project argues that wonder and wisdom permit novel mediating strategies between evolutionary and systematic concepts about Christ; allowing a distinctive contribution to the literature in science and religion as well as Christology. Different aspects of contemporary Christology are explored in this project, drawing particularly on a rigorous critical analysis of the work of Lutheran theologian Jürgen Moltmann, and a sustained critique of the mystical theology of the Roman Catholic theologian and paleontologist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. \nFirst, the key theological concept of incarnation is addressed, God become human in Christ, and the extent to which current contemporary scholarship in this field is coherent in the light of current discussions of evolutionary biology and evolutionary psychology is discussed. An alternative approach is offered which draws specifically on a Christology that was present in early Christian literature, namely, the concept of Jesus as Wisdom incarnate. The distinctive element in this case is that now the notion of wisdom is revisited in evolutionary terms, filling out the nascent discussion that has also captivated many contemporary biblical scholars. The notion of human wonder is explored in relation to current theories of evolutionary psychology. In what sense can Christ also be understood as Wonder incarnate? Some critical attention to the theological aesthetics of Hans urs von Balthasar is relevant to this discussion. \nThe next major section of the project deals with the theological notion of atonement and contemporary theories of redemption. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ties the redemptive work of Christ into evolutionary categories, evolution pointing towards the Omega point in Christ. This project will distance itself from too tight a coupling between Christ as redeemer and that understanding of evolution that is found in the work of Teilhard de Chardin for two reasons. In the first place Teilhard was working with an evolutionary view of the world that is outdated and has now been superseded in evolutionary science. In the second place, too tight a coupling is inhibitive, for it has the unfortunate result of either constraining theology into scientific categories, or, moving beyond what can be recognised as scientifically valid. The resurrection of Christ and its meaning in a scientifically conditioned world has been the subject of intense theological debate for some time. The distinct approach offered here includes a critical appraisal of this literature, but it now pays much more attention to current theories about the evolved nature of creaturely being.\nThe third section of the project deals specifically with the significance of Christ for the human community in the light of future hope, that is, eschatology. For this section, the work of Lutheran theologian Jürgen Moltmann is of special significance; as for him all theology is written in an eschatological key, including his understanding of Christ. However, his major book on Christology and eschatology, titled significantly, The Way of Jesus Christ, only had a relatively short section (10pp out of 388pp) on Christ and evolution. This research project will both fill out and offer a critical appreciation of the theological hints found in Moltmann's work. \nThis work will be of primary interest to an academic audience, but will be written in such a way that it can be appreciated by non-specialists in the field as well.

BACKGROUND: Stem cell therapies have become a major area of scientific interest and activity. Research over the last 20 years has made ground breaking discoveries to identify how stem cells work and how they can be used to treat disease or injury. Much of this research has centred on the ability of stem cells to change their characteristic to provide mature cells with specialist function, e.g. to form nerves for people suffering from nerve injury or heart muscle cells for those following heart attack. However recent evidence suggests that this way of working may not be true for a particular population of stem cells, called mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) which are present in bone marrow or fat stores through life. Instead these cells are thought to provide important signals to other cells present in diseased or damaged tissue to trigger the recipient cells to repair the tissue. MSCs can be obtained from biopsies of tissue, isolated and grown in cell culture, and in this way they have been used to treat other areas of the body e.g. by transplantation into the injured site. The lead applicant from Aston (Dr Eustace Johnson) has a long standing expertise in this area of research. THE SCIENTIFIC PROBLEM: When MSCs are transplanted into diseased/injured tissue, the clinical results have been mixed - the MSC transplants do not always work as well as expected. This has prevented the wider use of MSC-based therapies. Various reasons for an inability of MSC therapies to show reproducibly strong benefits have been suggested. However, the bottom line is that we do not know enough at the molecular level about how MSCs stimulate other cell types to repair tissues, or about how other key factors can affect the outcome, including the quality of MSCs being transplanted and variability in the disease/damaged sites being treated. THE PROJECT AIM: We hypothesise that MSCs secrete factors to communicate with cells that are already present at sites of tissue damage, which prevents further damage and helps repair the tissue e.g. by stopping harmful inflammatory reactions or stimulating blood vessel growth. There is substantial data to support this hypothesis but the mechanism of action is unknown. We will investigate this problem using a combination of analytical approaches. In addition, the project will evaluate how MSC quality and key features of the wound/disease environment affects the ability of the MSCs to bring about the best repair response in the tissue. THE PARTNERSHIP: The Veterinary Tissue Bank Ltd is a small to medium sized company with a core business in the provision of canine cells and tissues for the treatment of injury and disease in dogs. The use of MSCs to treat dogs with osteoarthritis (OA) commenced in 2013 by injection of cells into the affected joint. The clinical results are promising and rapid, suggesting that the MSCs are affecting the OA joint through an anti-inflammatory action. For this reason, VTB have targeted a partnership with Aston University (Johnson with the added expertise of Dr Andrew Devitt) to explore the underlying mechanisms of how MSCs work in dogs. The advantages to the company include the development of their product portfolio and customer base utilising MSC secreted products, as well as being able to help train a highly skilled researcher to advance these activities. Academically the PhD studentship will enable us to address key scientific problems associated with our understanding of how cells communicate to therapeutic effect. THE BBSRC REMIT: The project fits within the BBSRC strategic research priorities to improve the welfare of animals through increasing knowledge and alleviating disease and pain, as well as research into healthy ageing by generating new knowledge to advance regenerative biology including research in stem cells and tissue engineering to improve the quality of life for the ageing population.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.