Research Assistant/MSCA Doctoral Network PhD Studentship (Fixed Term)

Research Assistant/Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network PhD Studentship, Commencing October 2026 (3 years)

The Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology (CCGE) is recruiting a motivated and ambitious PhD candidate skilled in genetic epidemiology, biostatistics, mathematics computational biology or related discipline to contribute to the “Hereditary & Early onset breast cancer: Comprehensive personalised Assessment, early Risk Evaluation and clinical management” (HER-CARE) project.

The successful applicant will work on the project “Assessing the role of rare germline non-coding genetic variation in breast cancer susceptibility using whole genome sequencing data”. This project will investigate the contribution of rare non‑coding regulatory variants, including those in enhancers, promoters, UTRs, and transcription factor binding sites to breast cancer susceptibility. Using whole‑genome sequencing data from the UK Biobank, the 100,000 Genomes Project and other datasets, the student will apply rare‑variant burden tests, regulatory‑element annotations, and integrative functional genomics to identify and validate novel associations. The project will also quantify the contribution of these variants to unexplained breast cancer heritability and assess age‑specific effects to support improved risk prediction across the lifespan.

The PhD student will be hosted at the Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public and Primary Care, University of Cambridge. They will be supervised by Professor Antonis Antoniou and mentored by Professor Douglas Easton. The successful candidate will be appointed as a Research Assistant (RA) within the CCGE.

In addition to conducting their primary research, the student will broaden their experience through one academic and one non-academic secondment within the HER-CARE network. Specifically, this position will include:

• Six-month secondment at Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI)
• Six-month secondment at AstraZeneca in Cambridge, UK

The successful applicant will develop skills in genetic epidemiology, in the analysis of complex epidemiological and genetic data, in computational and population health sciences and in disease risk-modelling and risk-prediction.

The project will suit students with strong quantitative and analytical skills. Ideally students should possess a master’s degree in statistics/biostatistics, mathematics, epidemiology, health data sciences, or a related quantitative discipline. The ideal candidate will have excellent academic abilities (at least a 2.1 honours degree or equivalent undergraduate degree) combined with strong communication skills in order to make the most of interdisciplinary training opportunities. Please ensure you meet the University of Cambridge entrance requirements. The successful applicant cannot hold a doctoral degree at recruitment date.

Applicants are also required to satisfy the following MSCA mobility rule to apply: You must not have resided or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the UK for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date.

The successful applicant will receive a monthly salary (subject to tax and National Insurance deductions), which includes both a living allowance and a mobility allowance.

Candidates with a family may be eligible for a monthly family allowance (also subject to tax and National Insurance deductions), provided they meet the eligibility criteria for the MSCA family allowance. 

Employment will commence on 1 October 2026 and will end on 30 September 2029.

This is a full-time position.

Location - Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Strangeways Research Laboratory, Worts Causeway, Cambridge CB1 8RN (approx 2 miles south of city centre)

Informal enquiries can be made to Antonis Antoniou via email phpc.hr@medsch.cam.ac.uk

Closing date: 22^nd March 2026

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