Dr J Bowes, Prof A Barton, Dr S Verstappen
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)
About the Project
Patients with chronic inflammatory joint diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), have increased mortality compared to the general population. Approximately half of this excess mortality is attributable to premature death caused by coronary artery disease (CAD), where the relative risk of CAD related mortality is highest in younger age groups and women. In particular atherosclerosis can arise in these patients up to 10 years earlier compared to the general population.
The risk factors for CAD are well understood in the general population and screening tools are routinely used to estimate this risk and guide medical interventions. However, the screening tools are not effective for estimating CAD risk in patients with RA due to the differing contribution from traditional risk factors and from disease-specific factors.
Over recent years our understanding of the genetic basis for many traits has rapidly accelerated to the point where the development and application of genetic based prediction tools are showing promise. This project will explore the potential use of genetic approaches to help us understand the basis for the increased prevalence of CAD in patients with inflammatory joint disease. The overall aims of the project will be to develop more accurate disease-specific risk models, estimate the causal relationships between inflammatory joint diseases and CAD and exploring overlapping genetic associations and pathways. Understanding these factors will help us address these important health inequalities suffered by patients with inflammatory joint diseases.
The proposed work will investigate the utility of disease prediction models based on the wealth of genetic and clinical date from large-scale patient cohorts available to researchers at the Centre for Musculoskeletal Research. The student will be jointly supervised by clinicians, geneticists and epidemiologists across two Arthritis Research UK Centres of Excellence (Centre for Genetics and Genomics and the Centre for Epidemiology) based at the University of Manchester.
Applications are invited from UK/EU nationals only. Candidates are expected to hold (or be due to obtain) a minimum upper-second (or equivalent) class undergraduate degree in genetics, bioinformatics, biostatistics or a relevant quantitative subject. A background in genetics is not required for candidates with a strong interest in statistics. For information on how to apply for this project, please visit the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Doctoral Academy website (https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/research/apply/). Informal enquiries may be made directly to the primary supervisor.
Funding Notes
This project is funded by Arthritis Research UK Centre for Genetics and Genomics with RCUK stipend. The starting date will be September 2019 for 3 years. If you are interested please make direct contact with the Supervisor to discuss the project. You MUST also submit an online application form. On the online application form select PhD Biostatistics
As an equal opportunities institution we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.
References
1 Bowes J, Ashcroft J, Dand N, et al. Cross-phenotype association mapping of the MHC identifies genetic variants that differentiate psoriatic arthritis from psoriasis. Ann Rheum Dis 2017;76.
2 Bowes J, Budu-Aggrey A, Huffmeier U, et al. Dense genotyping of immune-related susceptibility loci reveals new insights into the genetics of psoriatic arthritis. Nat Commun 2015;6:6046.
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