Fully Funded MRC PhD Scholarship: Automated High Content Imaging for Carcinogenicity Testing In Vitro

This scholarship is funded by the MRC, in conjunction with AstraZeneca.

Start date: October 2019

Supervisor: Professor Gareth Jenkins, Institute of Life Science, Swansea University

The assessment of DNA damage (genotoxicity) potential is a regulatory requirement for all new products to ensure that human exposure to genotoxins is minimised. As DNA damage drives carcinogenesis, this assessment is vital to prevent human cancer rates rising. Replacing animal tests for carcinogens with cell based (in vitro) approaches is also a major consideration.

This PhD will integrate the in vitro assessment of DNA damage potential with the assessment of perturbations to several cancer hallmarks to develop a holistic testing platform for assessing carcinogenic potential. This novel testing platform will be further validated at Swansea University and compared to a similar robotic system under development at Astra Zeneca laboratories (Cambridge).

Eligibility
Candidates should have a first degree in a biological sciences discipline with excellent experience of cell culture techniques.

We would normally expect the academic and English Language requirements (IELTS 6.5 or equivalent) to be met by point of application. For details on the University’s English Language entry requirements, please visit – http://www.swansea.ac.uk/admissions/english-language-requirements/

Please see the conditions of research council training grants for residence requirements.