We are looking for highly motivated students to carry our research for a doctoral thesis on cell cycle control in the Hochegger and Poon labs at the University of Sussex and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The students will utilize CRISPR-based gene targeting methods to establish genetic model systems for the analysis of mitotic entry in non-transformed human cells. Preparation for chromosome segregation during mitotic entry is a highly complex and stunningly beautiful process that results in the dramatic re-organization of every cellular compartment. Defects in this process cause the gain or loss of entire chromosomes, a phenomenon that is often observed in cancer cells. Despite its paramount importance, the precise mechanism of mitotic entry in human cells remains poorly understood. The advent of CRIPSR based genetics allows complex question like this to be addressed with new highly refined genetic tools. The core question of the project will concern how the balance between kinase and phosphatase regulation flips during the mitotic entry switch. This project will deliver new insights into the mechanism of mitotic progression and open up a range of new avenues for the analysis of essential genes in mitosis.

The project is designed to be a close collaboration between the two labs in the UK and Hong Kong. The successful applicant will spend the first 2 years at the University of Sussex in the Hochegger lab supervised by Dr. Hochegger (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/lifesci/hocheggerlab/) and the remaining 2 years at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in the Poon lab (http://ihome.ust.hk/~rycpoon/Welcome.html) supervised by Professor Poon. This arrangement will provide the successful applicant with a unique opportunity to join a highly interdisciplinary and international team that utilizes mathematical modelling, chemistry, structural biology, chemical genetics, super-resolution microscopy and quantitative proteomics to analyze various aspects of cell cycle control.

The supervisors for this project will be Professor Helfrid Hochegger (GDSC, Sussex) & Professor Randy Poon (HKUST)