Defining replication mechanisms at the telomere end

The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is one of the world’s most influential cancer research institutes. We are committed to attracting and developing the best minds in the world to join us in our mission—to make the discoveries that defeat cancer.

Defining replication mechanisms at the telomere end:
Eukaryotic chromosomes are linear, and capped at each end by specialised nucleoprotein complexes called telomeres. The importance of these structures is highlighted by the range of human diseases associated with telomeric defects, including dykeratosis congenita, pulmonary fibrosis and essentially all types of cancer.
Whilst telomeres have been extensively studied genetically, our molecular understanding of how these dynamic complexes are organised and processed each cell cycle is currently limited. The Telomere Biology group at the ICR is using a multidisciplinary approach that combines biochemistry, genetics and structural biology to study these questions. The PhD project advertised here will address a fundamental aspect of telomere biology: what happens when a replication fork reaches the end of the chromosome? This event plays an important role in human health, as the unreplicated gap left behind at the chromosome end after replication is complete leads to telomere shortening in somatic human cells, which limits proliferative capacity and is a major barrier to cancer. The successful candidate will build on current work within the group and use reconstituted biochemical assays complemented by genetic approaches and structural biology to address this question.