PhD studentship: The role of immune surveillance in controlling lung cancer formation

• Primary supervisor: Dr Kevin Litchfield 
• Secondary supervisors: Dr Crispin Hiley, Dr James Reading 

APPLICATIONS CLOSED (Monday 11 January 2021 17:00 (GMT)

Project

Immunotherapy has transformed the treatment of metastatic cancer, with checkpoint inhibitor treatment now approved in >10 cancer types. Much less clear however is our understanding of the immune systems role in the earliest phases of cancer, in particular in controlling tumour development. Theoretically, the process of immune mediated tumour control is well described, through the three phases of immunoediting: elimination, equilibrium and escape. Whilst evidence supports these concepts in animal models, as well as limited human studies, a systematic understanding of immune surveillance in the early phases of tumour development is lacking. Several key questions remain unaddressed, such as the timing of host immune response, and whether the hallmark signs of anti-tumour response (e.g. tumour antigen recognition) are detectable at early disease time-points. We hypothesise that the host immune system is locked in a prolonged period of interaction with somatic clones preventing or delaying the clinical presentation of cancer, and that this process can be exploited to develop novel early-detection diagnostics and prevention strategies. This PhD project will investigate these questions in a CRUK early detection cohort of patients, using in vitro immunology techniques:  

• high dimensional flow cytometry,  
• T cell receptor sequencing,  
• antigen recognition assays. 

The project objective is to understand the role of host immune response, in the earliest phases of lung cancer development. Specifically, we will use a cohort of early detection samples to assess for evidence of (i) immunosurveillance, (ii) cancer associated t cell receptor (TCR) sequences and (iii) cancer (neo)antigen reactivity, in peripheral blood. As hallmark features of anti-tumour immune engagement, these three factors will allow us to quantify the role of immunosurveillance in an early disease context.  

More detailed information about the research project is available on request from k.litchfield@ucl.ac.uk. 

Person specification

Essential 

• Minimum upper second class Honours Degree in an associated discipline, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. 
• Knowledge of immunology and/or cancer. 
• Preliminary knowledge of research techniques. 
• Evidence of motivation for and understanding of the proposed area of study. 
• Ability to develop understanding of complex problems and apply in-depth knowledge to address them. 
• Potential to develop expertise in new areas of the subject. 
• Potential for innovation and initiative, and evidence of an ability to work independently. 
• Effective communication skills in both written and spoken English. 

Desirable 

• Relevant laboratory research experience. 
• Experience of flow cytometry, next generation sequencing laboratory techniques.

Students will also need to qualify as UK/EU fee payers and meet UCL general admissions criteria. 

Duties and responsibilities

Research 

• To apply highly specialist scientific skills and expertise to lead in the delivery of high quality research and the preparation of high-impact research publications. 
• To keep abreast of current developments in this research area. 
• To report research progress to the supervisory team, the Cancer Institute, and at scientific conferences and meetings. 
• To work with other Scientists within the team as necessary. 
• To work safely by adhering to all University policies and practices, including preparing and following laboratory risk assessments, and complying with Health and Safety policies, ethical approval processes and Human Tissue Act guidelines. 

Analytical and Judgement Skills 

• To demonstrate a high-level of technical and analytical skill to resolve highly complex scenarios, requiring analysis, interpretation and expert judgement to find the most appropriate solutions. 
• To identify, interpret and integrate information from a wide variety of sources, and critically evaluate the quality and assumptions of these data. 
• To show initiative and the ability to make decisions in areas where no previous work has been undertaken. 
• To show awareness of your own developmental needs and undertake appropriate training where appropriate. 
• To comply with professional codes of conduct. 

Research environment

The UCL Cancer Institute is a state-of-the-art institute to consolidate cancer research at UCL and promote links with our partner teaching hospitals, in order to support excellence in basic and translational studies. The Institute draws together talented scientists who are working together to translate research discoveries into developing kinder, more effective therapies for cancer patients. It is a Cancer Research UK and Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, and contains approximately 580 staff, including 80 PhD and MD (Res) students and 30-40 MSc students. Core facilities within the Institute include: Genomics Facility (gene expression microarrays); Proteomics Facility; Imaging and Cell Sorting (confocal, time-lapsed microscopy, MoFlo FACS); Pathology Suite (laser capture microdissection, tissue arrays); Experimental Imaging (with UCL Institute of Child Health); and Transgenesis. 

Application

APPLICATIONS CLOSED (Monday 11 January 2021 17:00 (GMT)

Students will need to qualify as UK/EU fee payers and meet UCL general admissions criteria. This studentship is subject to confirmation of funding from CRUK

To apply for this studentship, you must submit only three documents. 

1. Your full CV including a short summary (<500 words) detailing how your experience and ability matches the project and the person specification. 
2. A single PDF file containing scans of two academic references, and the transcripts of your university degree(s) showing your unit/module marks
3. An equal opportunities monitoring form (Word download). This form will be separated from your application before it is forwarded to shortlisters. By submitting this form you are giving us consent to use the data contained for quality and monitoring purposes. Data will be anonymised.

These three documents should then be emailed to ci.scholarships@ucl.ac.uk. Please write 'CRUK 2005 Litchfield in the subject line of the email. 

APPLICATIONS CLOSED (Monday 11 January 2021 17:00 (GMT)