Subject overview

Programmes

• PhD in Genome Stability
• MPhil in Genome Stability

The MRC Genome Damage and Stability Centre (GDSC) enables scientists of different disciplines to be housed in one building and benefit from mutual interests. Our work ranges from studies on the protein molecules that repair DNA inside cells to the genes that are altered or mutated in cancer cells and in neurological disease, with an aim of understanding these diseases and how we might defeat them.

We offer PhD/MPhil positions and welcome projects falling within our research interests.

Research projects are initiated in the first year of study. There is an initial emphasis on learning new experimental techniques and so the School of Life Sciences Graduate Training Programme runs concurrently with research projects. As a new student, you will immediately begin on a research project to develop your laboratory skills and to determine your areas of interest. We encourage collaborative projects between laboratories. This enables you to experience a wide range of techniques and the development of projects that best suit your talents and interests.

Throughout, as part of your intellectual development, you are expected to take part in laboratory meetings and journal clubs and to attend a weekly seminar series. You are also encouraged to attend the broader seminars in the School that cover a wide variety of biological subjects. All students are encouraged to attend, and present their work at, national and international scientific meetings.

The GDSC has a collegial approach to PhD supervision. You are supervised in the laboratory by postdoctoral researchers, and progress is closely monitored by laboratory heads. In addition, each student has an independent co-supervisor or mentor. Progress is monitored by informal meetings, annual reports, poster presentations (Year 1) and oral presentations (Year 2).

Career development is an important part of our courses. The development of research and transferable skills is supported by the Sussex Postgraduate Skills Programme, which runs a large number of short skills modules, including interview skills, time management, oral presentations and thesis writing. All postgraduate research students complete a skills assessment and choose a personalised set of modules. The GDSC also runs a seminar series aimed at showcasing the variety of postdoctoral career options.

Funding

The Genome Damage and Stability Centre offers 3.5-year MRC-funded studentships in the following research areas:

• cancer research
• human genetic disease
• DNA repair mechanisms
• cell cycle control
• cell division
• chromatin organisation
• meiosis
• telomere biology.

Recent thesis titles

Biochemical characterisation of a novel DNA single-strand break repair process and its defect in a neurodegenerative disease

Investigating the role of higher order chromatin structure and DNA damage complexity on ATM signalling and G2/M checkpoint arrest

Involvement of human DNA polymerase Kappa in nucleotide excision repair

Novel insights into the DNA interstrand cross-link repair in Schizosaccharomyces pombe: characterisation of Fan1 through standard and high-throughput genetic analysis

Investigating the effects of repair of DNA single-strand breaks on chromatin structure

Entry requirements

MPhil in Genome Stability

UK entrance requirements

A first- or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree in a relevant subject.

Overseas entrance requirements

Please refer to column A in Overseas qualifications.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with not less than 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in the other sections. Internet TOEFL with 88 overall, with at least 20 in Listening, 20 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.

For more information, refer to English language requirements.

Additional admissions information

If you are a non-EEA student you must obtain clearance by the UK Government Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) for this degree. Please ensure you allow sufficient time for your university application to be considered and processed in time for you to apply for ATAS clearance and your Tier 4 visa.

PhD in Genome Stability

UK entrance requirements

A first- or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree in a relevant subject.

Overseas entrance requirements

Please refer to column A in Overseas qualifications.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with not less than 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in the other sections. Internet TOEFL with 88 overall, with at least 20 in Listening, 20 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.

For more information, refer to English language requirements.

Additional admissions information

If you are a non-EEA student you must obtain clearance by the UK Government Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) for this degree. Please ensure you allow sufficient time for your university application to be considered and processed in time for you to apply for ATAS clearance and your Tier 4 visa.

Visas and immigration

Find out more about Visas and immigration.

For more information about the admissions process at Sussex

For pre-application enquiries:

Student Recruitment Services
T +44 (0)1273 876787
E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

For post-application enquiries:

Postgraduate Admissions,
University of Sussex,
Sussex House, Falmer,
Brighton BN1 9RH, UK
T +44 (0)1273 877773
F +44 (0)1273 678545
E pg.applicants@sussex.ac.uk 

Related subjects

• Biochemistry and molecular biology
• Chemistry
• Evolution, behaviour and environment
• Neuroscience

Fees and funding

Fees

MPhil in Genome Stability

Home UK/EU students: £3,900¹
Overseas students: £16,200²

¹ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
² The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.

PhD in Genome Stability

Home UK/EU students: £3,900¹
Overseas students: £16,200²

¹ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
² The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.

Funding

The funding sources listed below are for the subject area you are viewing and may not apply to all degrees listed within it. Please check the description of the individual funding source to make sure it is relevant to your chosen degree.

Faculty interests

The MRC Genome Damage and Stability Centre (GDSC) currently houses these research groups:

Dr Jon Baxter, Baxter Laboratory Our laboratory studies the process of chromosome resolution. Failure to resolve chromosomes leads to the daughter cells not having the normal complement of genetic information, leading to either cell death or widespread genomic instability – a potential pathway to cancer.

Dr Alessandro Bianchi, Bianchi Laboratory Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures at chromosome ends necessary for the replication of the genome and to preserve its stability. Owing to these roles, telomeres affect both organismal ageing and cancer progression. Our work aims to identify and characterise the protein factors responsible for the protective function of telomeres and for the regulation of the telomerase enzyme. 

Professor Keith Caldecott, Caldecott Laboratory Chromosomal DNA strand breaks are the commonest and most cytotoxic lesions arising in cells. We focus on identifying and characterising novel human proteins involved in the repair of DNA breaks and how they protect against diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration. 

Professor Antony Carr, Carr Laboratory I concentrate on the relationship between DNA replication and the DNA damage response and how they contribute to genome instability.

Professor Aidan Doherty, Doherty Laboratory DNA double-strand breaks are a significant form of DNA damage. Our research is directed primarily at biochemical, cellular and structural studies of the non-homologous end-joining DNA repair pathways in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.

Dr Jessica Downs, Downs Laboratory We are interested in understanding the dynamic interplay between chromatin and genome stability. We aim to gain new insights into potential causes, treatments and biomarkers of cancer.

Dr Sharif El-Khamisy, El-Khamisy Laboratory Breaks in one strand of DNA arise spontaneously every day from various sources. We employ a combination of approaches to understand the mechanisms of repair of this type of DNA break and determine their impact on neuronal viability and human health.

Dr Helfrid Hochegger, Hochegger Laboratory We investigate how mitotic kinases coordinate accurate chromosome segregation and cell division. This is critical to help us understand how things can go wrong in chromosome segregation in cancer cells and how we can exploit these processes to target cancer cells.

Dr Eva Hoffmann, Hoffmann Laboratory My lab studies chromosomes segregation during meiosis. Failure of chromosomes to segregate properly leads to infertility as well as developmental disabilities, including Down’s syndrome. We use budding yeast as a model system to identify genes involved in crossing over and chromosome dynamics, as well as to study the processes in human oocytes.

Professor Penny Jeggo, Jeggo Laboratory We study the DNA damage response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Exposure to ionising radiation induces DSB formation. We are interested in how the damage response processes protect us from radiation damage and the limitations of the mechanisms.

Professor Alan Lehmann, Lehmann Laboratory We aim to understand the responses of human cells to ultraviolet light and the molecular basis for the defects in xeroderma pigmentosum, Cockayne Syndrome and trichothiodystrophy. We also run a diagnostic service for these disorders.

Dr Johanne Murray, Murray Laboratory The accurate inheritance of genetic material (DNA) is key to the survival of all organisms but can be at the expense of an increased error rate leading to mutations. Since such changes can lead to cancer, it is vital that replication is coordinated with repair. We are interested in how this is regulated.

Dr Matt Neale, Neale Laboratory We offer a PhD project investigating DNA repair reactions within intact chromatin, using advanced molecular biology, genetic and biochemical methods. From this work, we hope to gain a much clearer picture of how cells respond to and repair DNA damage in the context of the complex chromosomal structure.

Dr Mark O’Driscoll, O’Driscoll Laboratory Our principal interest is the study of the response to and repair of DNA damage in human cells and particularly the variety of human conditions that are defective in these pathways.

Professor Laurence Pearl FRS, Pearl Laboratory; Dr Tony Oliver, Oliver Laboratory; Dr Chris Prodromou, Prodromou Laboratory We study the structural basis for assembly, specificity and regulation of the multi-protein complexes involved in the recognition, repair and signalling of DNA damage, and in the chaperone-mediated stabilisation and activation of cellular signalling pathways. These basic studies provide the means for discovery and development of novel small-molecule inhibitors with application as drugs for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Our lab includes the Cancer Research UK DNA Repair Enzymes Group (Dr Tony Oliver). It also includes the Wellcome Trust Molecular Chaperone Group (Dr Chris Prodromou), which studies the structural basis for the maturation and activation of a diverse array of client proteins and the interplay between the Hsp90 chaperone machine and its associated complexes.

Dr Steve Sweet, Sweet Laboratory Our focus is on the alteration and potential re-establishment of chromatin patterns associated with repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Aberrant DNA damage repair and genomic instability are hallmarks of cancer. We work with both yeast and mammalian model systems coupled with mass spectrometric analysis of histone post-translational modifications.

Dr Hideo Tsubouchi, Tsubouchi Laboratory Homologous recombination plays important roles in both somatic and germ line cells. By studying both mitotic and meiotic recombination using budding yeast as a model system, we aim to understand the general principles of homologous recombination. 

Dr Felicity Watts, Watts Laboratory Failure to maintain genetic integrity can result in the inheritance of mutations, genetic disorders, cancer or cell death. We study a number of DNA damage processes, such as the function of the DNA integrity checkpoint protein Crb2 and the role of the post-translational modifer, SUMO, in DNA damage responses.

Careers and perspectives

Our graduates have gone on to roles such as scientific researcher for the Medical Research Council, medical writer, postdoctoral researcher, and healthcare scientist.

School and contacts