Matthew Churchward

Subject: Prospective PhD student: inflammation Dear Professor Churchward, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Post-stroke butyrate treatment shows sex-dependent microglial responses but does not improve outcomes in a mouse model of endothelin-1 sensory motor stroke." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Mechanisms of cell stress and damage from functional electrical stimulation" (2024), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]