MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Understanding the genetics of melanoma by studying heritable risk factors

Background
Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK and its incidence has risen faster than any other common cancer - a five-fold increase since 1975. Melanoma is highly heritable and, uniquely amongst cancers, it has several highly heritable risk factors, including pigmentation, mole count and telomere length. Genetic association studies of melanoma risk have identified 20 associated genetic regions and the vast majority of these have been associated with one of the three heritable factors. There is compelling evidence that there are many more genetic regions associated with melanoma risk through one of these three factors.

Objectives
We propose conducting joint analyses of melanoma risk (based on >30,000 cases) and pigmentation (recorded in UK Biobank), naevus count (from a recent study of >50,000 individuals) and telomere length (data soon to be released by UK Biobank). This would result in increased power to identify novel genetic regions associated with melanoma risk, to estimate the contribution of each of these risk factors for melanoma and to develop genetic predictors of disease for each of these factors as well as provide insights into the interaction of these predictors in determining risk.

While genetic variants associated with melanoma risk have been subsequently tested to investigate their potential effect on related traits, such traits have not been used themselves to directly inform the analysis of the genetics of melanoma risk.

Candidates should have a good first degree in a relevant scientific discipline with a strong grasp of statistical analysis (either through formal qualification or experience). An interest in genetics is important, but no prior knowledge is required.

The group has an international reputation in the field of genetic epidemiology. Members of the section lead GenoMEL, the world’s largest melanoma genetics consortium and are part of large consortia studying the genetics of diseases such as testis cancer, colorectal cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.

Informal enquiries are encouraged and may be addressed to Dr Mark Iles ( [Email Address Removed] )

Benefits of being in the DiMeN DTP:
This project is part of the Discovery Medicine North Doctoral Training Partnership (DiMeN DTP), a diverse community of PhD students across the North of England researching the major health problems facing the world today. Our partner institutions (Universities of Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield) are internationally recognised as centres of research excellence and can offer you access to state-of the-art facilities to deliver high impact research.
We are very proud of our student-centred ethos and committed to supporting you throughout your PhD. As part of the DTP, we offer bespoke training in key skills sought after in early career researchers, as well as opportunities to broaden your career horizons in a range of non-academic sectors.
Being funded by the MRC means you can access additional funding for research placements, international training opportunities or internships in science policy, science communication and beyond. See how our current DiMeN students have benefited from this funding here: http://www.dimen.org.uk/overview/student-profiles/flexible-supplement-awards
Further information on the programme can be found on our website:
http://www.dimen.org.uk/