Job title
Black Leaders in Cancer PhD Programme (Kirsteen Campbell & Karen Blyth)
Job reference
REQ00369
Date posted
21/10/2024
Application closing date
25/11/2024
Location
Glasgow
Salary
Stipend - £21,000 per annum
Package
All tuition fees will be covered
Contractual hours
Blank
Basis
Blank
Job category/type
PhD Students
Attachments
Blank
Job description
Harnessing BCL-2 family induced vulnerabilities as novel therapeutictargets in cancer
Background
Perturbation in the BCL-2 family of apoptotic regulators is a frequent event in cancer that enables tumour development and creates a barrier to efficient cancer cell elimination in response to therapy. The advent of specific inhibitors of pro-survival BCL-2 proteins, called BH3-mimetic drugs, has proven that targeting the BCL-2 family can reinstate cancer cell apoptosis with practice changing efficacy in treatment of some types of blood cancer. In solid cancers, preclinical work has revealed that BH3-mimetic drugs work best when used in combination with other treatments which offer the opportunity for tumour cell-specific effects to limit undesirable side effects. We have identified resistance mechanisms that allow cancer cells to adapt to targeting of the BCL-2 family, and we hypothesise that targeting these pathways can lead to more efficient cancer cell elimination. In addition to studying the impact of co-targeting these novel pathways, this project will investigate new approaches to enhance tumour cell specificity to limit potential toxicities. This work will be applied across multiple cancer types including breast cancer.
Research question
Through novel combination, and targeting approaches, can perturbations in the BCL-2 family be harnessed to deliver efficient and specific elimination of cancer cells?
Skills/techniques that will be gained
The successful student will have the opportunity to master a wide range of in vitro and in vivo models including 2D, 3D and organoid culture models, sophisticated genetically engineered mouse models of cancer. A variety of molecular biology techniques, analysis of RNA-sequencing data, flow cytometry, microscopy, viability assays and drug screening approaches will be utilised to characterise the impact of novel treatment combinations.