Research Projects
Predicting innate immune cell fate from single-cell transcriptomics and imaging dataset

The major focus in immunology is to decipher the heterogeneity of immune cells. The advance in single-cell transcriptomics has been rewriting our understanding of immune cell types. The next level fundamental question is whether we could predict the fate of cells given transcriptomics and morphology. Addressing this question will benefit the precise recipe to derive functional immune cells from stem cells, which is clinically demanded. Innate immune cells such as monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils follow the dynamic change in their morphology during maturation. In collaboration with data science expertise, the candidate will i) generate a dataset of single-cell transcriptomics and imaging of innate immune cells amid differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells, ii) establishment of computational workflow to match both transcriptomics and morphology of innate immune cells. The completion of this project will train the candidate with skills in stem cell culture, differentiation into immune cells, single-cell RNA-sequencing, imaging, and computational analysis.

Professor RR Sugimura, School of Biomedical Sciences

Professor Rio Sugimura is recognized for his outstanding contributions to the field of hematology, immunology, and stem cell biology. His lab has two branches. One focuses on understanding the optimal structure and induction strategies of CAR in immune cells from human pluripotent stem cells at HKSTP. The other is on dissecting fundamental mechanisms of human immune cell development and the role of checkpoints using a single-cell multi-omics approach, Tumors-on-Chips, and assembloids at HKUMed. Professor Sugimura is a Director of the Blood Engineering Laboratory, a PI of the Centre for Translational Stem Cell Biology, and an Assistant Professor of HKUMed. 

https://www.riosugimura.com/

Biography
HKU Scholars Hub
Google Scholar
ORCID
Laboratory Homepage
rios@hku.hk

For more information or to express interest for this project, please email the supervisor or the specified contact point in the project description.  Interested candidates are advised to enclose with your email:

1. your CV,
2. a brief description of your research interest and experience, and
3. two reference letters (not required for HKUMed UG students seeking MRes[Med]/URIS projects).

Information on the research programme, funding support and admission documentations could be referenced online at the Research Postgraduate Admissions website. General admission enquiries should be directed to rpgmed@hku.hk.

HKUMed MBBS students interested in the Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) programme may visit the programme website for more information.  

HKUMed UG students interested in the Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme (URIS) may visit the scheme’s website for more information.