The lymphatic vasculature in bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a severe lung disease that is the main cause of disability and death in premature infants. We have discovered that supplemental oxygen treatment of the newborn, the mainstay of therapy for this disease, induces abnormalities to lung lymphatic vessels, essential fluid channels in the lung. In this study, the student will use an established neonatal model of BPD to examine the function of the lymphatics, assess the phenotype of lymphatic endothelial cells and use high resolution 3D-imaging of optically transparent lungs to localise the affected lymphatic vessels in tissue. The student will use a combination of neonatal animal model studies, multiparameter flow cytometry, histopathology, 3D imaging and lung disease quantitation techniques.