Development of genomic and proteomic diagnostic markers of cell transformation.

In the perseverance to achieve personalised medicine, complete profiles of changes in cell biomarkers that can be monitored at multiple levels will be sort. Advances in technology coupled to the human genome project allow for the identification and delineation of new and existing oncogenic biomarkers. The aims of this project is to combine the identification of new genomic and proteomic indicators with current xenobiotic therapeutics in the expectation that pointers of disease status which impact upon cell division, cell death and cell surveillance can be identified and investigated as potential therapeutics.(Reiman et al 2012). Using a combination of techniques including gene transfer, microscopy, DNA sequence analysis, cell culture, DNA and mRNA analysis and protein expression mechanisms influences on cell replication will be investigated. Specific areas of interest include p53, cyclins and apoptosis. P53 a tumour suppressor, surveillance factor and a biomarker which is altered in over 50% of all cancers (Ouaray et al 2016), genes known to respond to apoptotic processes that are altered during transformation are now routinely monitored in the most common cancers in the UK. Cyclins form part of the regulatory process which allows cells to divide in stages during the cell cycle and as a result biomarkers of cyclins and cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors offers a potential therapeutic pathway. (Blachly et al 2016)The ideal candidate for this project will have a broad range of molecular biology skills and be able to adapt present understanding of diseases to modern computational analysis.