PhD Studentship - Identifying Novel MYC Regulated Targets in High-risk IG-MYC Rearranged Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia

Award summary

100% of home tuition fees plus annual stipend at RCUK rates.

Overview

Are you interested in learning how to define and target signalling pathways that contribute to the development of leukaemia? This project will investigate signalling pathways that are deregulated by MYC overexpression in immature leukaemia and will identify new therapies to improve patient outcomes.

Translocations involving the immunoglobulin loci and the transcription factor MYC are universal in Burkitt lymphoma (BL) but are rarely seen in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL). We recently characterised the genetic and transcriptomic changes in a large cohort, defining a novel subtype of high-risk B-ALL.

In this PhD, you will use CUT&RUN data from patient-derived models of BL and B-ALL harbouring an IG-MYC translocation to identify MYC-bound genes. You will functionally characterise the involvement of methyltransferase SETDB1, and together with transcriptomic data, investigate how MYC and SETDB1 interact.

You will become an expert on many molecular, functional and bioinformatic techniques. You will be integrated into the Newcastle University Centre for Cancer where you will interact with basic, clinical, and computational scientists and have access to a wide range of training opportunities.

Number of awards: 1

Start date: 18^th September 2023

Award duration: The funding covers a four-year PhD.

Sponsor: Combat Cancer and the Stuart Halbert Foundation

Supervisors:

Dr. Lisa J. Russell, Biosciences Institute

Dr. Simon Bomken, Translational and Clinical Research Institute

Eligibility criteria

You must have at least a 2:1 honours degree or international equivalent, in an appropriate subject (biomedical sciences, bioinformatics). The candidate must have or be willing to learn bioinformatics skills. A further qualification (MRes) or practical experience of CUT&RUN, library preparation, data analysis is advantageous.

The studentship covers fees at the Home rate. International/EU applicants will need to make up the difference between home and international fees.

Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subsection.

How to apply

Apply to Newcastle Portal - applyto.newcastle.ac.uk

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

• search ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8420F
• select PhD Biosciences (FT) as programme of study

You will need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Questions’ section:

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (mandatory) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form
• The studentship code BI059 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field
• When prompted for how you are providing your research proposal - select ‘Write Proposal’ and type the title of the research project from this advert - you do not need to upload a research proposal.

In addition, you will need to upload the following supporting documentation:

• covering letter stating the title of the studentship, quote reference code BI059 and state how your interests and experience relate to the project, and a CV.
• degree transcripts and certificates, and English language qualification documents if relevant/completed.

You will not be able to submit your application until you have submitted all required documents/information.

Contact details

For further details, please contact:

Dr. Lisa J. Russell
Biosciences Institute
E-mail: lisa.russell@ncl.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 2235

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