PhD studentship in the Institute of Cellular Medicine - Uncovering the role of neutrophils as drivers of hepatocellular carcinoma

Number of Awards:
1

Start date and duration:
25 September 2017 for 4 years.


Overview:
This project will focus on the role of neutrophils in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), including understanding their function and phenotype and how to manipulate this as a target for therapeutic intervention.

HCC is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with limited therapeutic options and a poor understanding of the key drivers of HCC development. However, we do know that chronic inflammation plays a major role in both cancer initiation and progression. Whilst a lot of attention has been given to understanding how to manipulate the adaptive immune response to benefit HCC little is known about the role of the innate immune cells. We have shown using animal models that neutrophils are key drivers of HCC development and progression and that neutrophil numbers are elevated in HCC patients. However, their function and heterogeneity during HCC initiation and progression are not fully understood. The student will characterise the phenotype and function of neutrophils associated with HCC and the relationship between tissue and circulating neutrophils using a state of the art tissue bioreactor system. The student will also explore how to manipulate isolated neutrophils in order to understand how we can skew their function to a more anti-tumor phenotype both in vitro an in vivo using both patient samples and animal models.

The project will provide a broad grounding in contemporary techniques relevant to translational cancer research, becoming familiar with the development and validation of targeted anti-cancer therapy, with a focus on neutrophil driven biology of HCC. He/she will be trained by experienced personnel in cell culture, tumour and tissue handling, tissue slice culture, protein and RNA extraction and purification, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry and gene expression analyses. The student will acquire a Home Office License, receiving training in animal handling, anesthesia and surgical techniques. Training will also be given in data handling, processing, interpretation and statistical analyses.

Sponsor:
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) (https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/)

Name of supervisors:
Professor D Mann, Institute of Cellular Medicine (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/icm/people/profile/derekmann.html#background)
Dr C Wilson, Institute of Cellular Medicine (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/icm/people/profile/carolinewilson.html#publications)
Dr H Reeves, Northern Institute of Cancer Research (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/nicr/staff/profile/helenreeves.html#background)

Eligibility criteria:

You must have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 Honours degree in immunology or a related area. MSc or MRes is advantageous.

The award is available to UK/EU and international applicants. If English is not your first language, you must have IELTS 7 with at least 6.5 in the written component, or equivalent.

How to apply:
All applicants should complete the university’s postgraduate application system. www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply To do this please ‘Create a new account’.

You will need to include the following information:

insert the programme code 8300F in the programme of study section
select ‘PhD in the Institute of Cellular Medicine – Cellular medicine as the programme of study
insert the studentship code CL095 in the studentship/partnership reference field
attach a covering letter and CV. The covering letter must state the title of the studentship, quote the studentship reference code CL095 and state how your interests and experience relate to the project
attach degree transcripts and certificates and, if English is not your first language, a copy of your English language qualifications.