Life Sciences PhD in Biochemistry: Using AI and big data to identify a personalised medicine regime in individual tumours (2023)
What you get
This School-funded position covers Home (UK) tuition fees and a stipend at standard UKRI rates for 3.5 years. Applicants with overseas fee status will need to fund the difference between Home and International tuition fees (approx. £18k per year).
Type of award
Postgraduate Research
PhD project
The ultimate goal in cancer treatment is to identify the therapeutic vulnerabilities of a patient’s tumour and use this to design a personalised medicine regime.
The recent cost reduction in genomic technologies, has allowed extensive genomic analysis of clinical samples but for most tumour types, we lack the ability to translate these data into a successful therapeutic strategy. The Pearl bioinformatics laboratory have therefore developed a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that use cancer genomic and other ‘big’ data sets to predict druggable vulnerabilities in cancer cells.
The aim of this PhD project is to improve the range and the accuracy of our current algorithms. These includes implementing novel ‘state of the art’ AI methods in combination with newer, larger datasets. These algorithms will be validated experimentally in the Hochegger lab.
Training
The student will be trained in programming, bioinformatics, big data and data science, cancer biology and therapeutics, in the Pearl bioinformatics laboratory. Training in cancer cell culture, cell proliferation analysis, and RNA interference technology for target validation, will be provided in the Hochegger Lab.
References
Predicting synthetic lethal interactions using conserved patterns in protein interaction networks
Therapeutic opportunities within the DNA damage response
Eligibility
The ideal candidate would have a first degree in Life Sciences (e.g. Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences etc) and a Master’s degree in a computation discipline (e.g. Bioinformatics, Data Science etc) or a proven ability in computer programming. Alternatively, the project would suit a candidate from a mathematical or computation discipline (e.g. Computer Science, Maths, Statistics, Data Science) who is happy to be trained in laboratory skills.
Eligible applicants will hold a 2:1 BSc in a relevant subject. Candidates for whom English is not their first language will require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall, with not less than 6.0 in any section.
Deadline
3 March 2023 23:45How to apply
Please submit a formal application using the online system at www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply attaching a CV, degree transcripts and certificates, statement of interest and two academic references.
On the application system select Programme of Study – PhD Biochemistry. Please ensure you state the project title under funding and include the proposed supervisor’s name where required.
The University is committed to equality and valuing diversity, and applications are particularly welcomed from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) at Sussex.
Contact us
For queries about the application process, please see the online application guide or contact Emma Chorley: lifesci-rec@sussex.ac.uk
For enquiries about the project, please contact the supervisor Dr Frances Pearl: f.pearl@sussex.ac.uk
Availability
At level(s):
PG (research)
Application deadline:
3 March 2023 23:45 (GMT)
the deadline has now expired
Countries
The award is available to people from the following country: