The University of St Andrews and Macquarie University are pleased to offer a scholarship funded by both institutions, to support an exceptional student undertaking doctoral research in the following project:
Integrating protein data into large international resources to address clinical challenges in prostate cancer
Students will enrol at both institutions from the outset. In terms of their location for study, entry points for students beginning at St Andrews are, 27 September or 27 January. If beginning at Macquarie, entry points are 1 October or 1 February.
Project
Worldwide, prostate cancer is the second most frequent malignancy seen in men. Each year 75,000 men across the UK and Australia will be diagnosed and 15,000 will die from it. It is a cancer notable for having few lifestyle choices that are known to reduce the risk of disease, for placing unequal burdens on different ethnic groups, for having a marked inheritable component of risk, for having no satisfactory diagnostic for early disease, and for lacking biomarkers to distinguish those cases needing radical treatment from those that do not. Coupled with a far-from-complete understanding of the biology of prostate cancer, these clinical aspects of the disease inhibit the rapid development of new and needed treatments.
Several projects worldwide have investigated the molecular profiles of prostate cancer, focussing for the most part on DNA and RNA molecules. The CRUK-funded UK project is one such, aiming to combine molecular data sets with clinical and pathology records to understand better a) the biology of the disease, b) why some people are more at risk than others, c) what might be a useful diagnostic or clinical test for the disease, and d) whether there might be new potential treatments. Alongside those molecular data types we have also banked protein samples for each case and generated proteomic data for a subset of cases (funded by CRUK and the SFC) from a mixture of technologies. Proteomic data have the potential to answer some of our questions more directly, but are harder to analyse. Methods for combining proteomic data with other molecular data types to answer our questions require development.
Glycosylation is a common and important alteration made to proteins that has been associated with the aggressiveness of cancer. Glycosylation of the Prostate Specific Androgen (PSA) protein is known to be a potential biomarker, and the partial regulation of glycosylation by the androgen steroid that drives prostate cancer, along with the interlinking of glycosylation with factors in the metabolism of Prostate cancer make this a topic worth prioritizing in prostate cancer. Professor Packer and colleagues at the Australian Proteome Analysis Facility are world-leading in terms of the analysis of glycosylation, as well as being experts in proteome analysis more generally.
As part of this project the student may look to generate glycoproteomic (and potentially additional glycomic) data that, along with standard proteomic profiling data, could be integrated with nucleic acid and clinical data in order to answer fundamental questions about the clinical progression and biology of prostate cancer. Again, this will require the development of computational/statistical methods to accommodate a unique data set.
Results so far from the UK project have highlighted that the genomic (DNA) basis for prostate cancers varies wildly between men, but that other characteristics are common. We have seen that a change may take place across the prostate, making it vulnerable to multiple tumours forming, and have confirmed that the metabolism of prostate cancers differs from other cancer types. Put together, these results make a strong case for aspects of the tumour such as the proteomic profile being potentially more useful in addressing our challenges than e.g. DNA sequencing.
Several staff and students in St Andrews are working on the molecular basis of prostate cancer using RNA and DNA data. Professor Lynch is heavily involved with the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) UK prostate project, and is a member of the panprostate group that unites similar projects worldwide. Integrating proteomics into such studies is another area where the successful applicant scholarship could contribute.
With this project, the successful applicant will have an opportunity to gain both laboratory and computational skills.
The project will be managed jointly between the School of Mathematics at St Andrews and the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie. The student will be supervised by Andy Lynch (St Andrews) and by Nicki Packer (Macquarie).
Informal enquiries regarding this scholarship may be addressed to [Email Address Removed] or [Email Address Removed] (supervisor).
Value of award (per year)
The funding comprises a scholarship equivalent of a full-fees award and stipend for a period of up to 3.5 years. It is expected that the student will spend half of the scholarship term at the University of St Andrews and half at Macquarie University:
- For the period spent at the University of St Andrews, the scholarship will comprise a full fees award and a stipend paid at the current UK Research Council rate each year (£17,668 in 2022–2023).
- For the period spent at Macquarie University, the scholarship will comprise a stipend at a fixed annual rate of AUD32,000 (tax exempt), paid pro-rata. A tuition fee scholarship will be granted for the period of joint enrolment up to 42 months. Macquarie University will also pay for one return economy airfare between Scotland and Australia up to a maximum value of $2,500 AUD to be arranged by the Graduate Research Academy.
Duration of award
Up to 3.5 years. The student will be expected to spend approximately half of the award term at the University of St Andrews and half at Macquarie University. The successful candidate will be expected to have completed the doctorate degree by the end of the award term. The award term excludes the continuation period and any extension periods.
For more information, see
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/scholarships/scholarships-catalogue/global-office/global-doctoral-scholarship---st-andrews-and-macquarie---mathematics/
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