Harnessing single-cell cytomics and transcriptomics to deliver precision medicine in inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects millions of patients word-wide and is an important cause of pain, disabling symptoms and severe complications, including cancer and premature death. The holy grail for IBD treatment is the development of smarter ways of using our treatments, such that the right patient gets the right drug at the right time. This approach is termed personalized or precision medicine. Treatment strategy is tailored to an individual patient, based on their likelihood of treatment success. This study will work towards developing a robust precision medicine framework, with the aim of revolutionizing the therapeutic landscape in IBD.

This project will exploit cutting-edge technologies designed to probe the characteristics of immune cells (the key cell types implicated in causing disease). By unravelling the complexity of these crucial cells at a single-cell level, we will provide new insights into disease biology at unprecedented resolution. We will also harness these insights to inform and guide the development of new biomarker tools to help predict how individual patients are likely to respond to biological therapies (e.g. monoclonal antibodies targeting cytokines).

The successful candidate will become a key member of our academic IBD research team, comprising clinicians and scientists united by a shared interest in IBD. To realise this vision we have formed a unique collaboration with Abbvie, a leading pharmaceutical company in the field. In partnership, we will bring together cutting-edge experiment platforms, bioinformatic expertise and access to unique bioresources, to build an exciting and game-changing research programme.

For further details about the project, visit the MRC DTP Website: https://kcl-mrcdtp.com/icase-projects/

For information on how to apply, visit our Application Process Page: https://kcl-mrcdtp.com/icase-studentship-application-process/

Partner Collaboration:
AbbVie Ltd

The successful candidate will gain world class training opportunities in:
- Advanced training in experimental platforms, including single-cell sequencing, CyTOF and imaging mass cytometry (theory and operational expertise)
- Advanced training in core immunology skills, including flow cytometry, RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, qPCR, ELISA, cell culture and cell isolation techniques
- Understanding “big data” is going to be a major asset in biological and clinical sciences in coming years. The student will receive first rate training, both in the form of formal taught courses (internal and external), but also on the job training, to achieve high-level competence in analysis, data interpretation and presentation.
- We anticipate that this project will facilitate and foster a bilateral exchange of bioinformatics expertise to all stakeholders, including the student, supervisory team and industrial partners.
- The candidate will also take advantage of multiple other training and development opportunities by enrolling as a student in the Centre for Immunology and Infectious Diseases (currently >40 PhD students enrolled in the centre), and by becoming an integrated member of our academic IBD team. There are regular internal seminar series, academic meetings, journal clubs, etc.