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Examining how radiotherapy may impact on the ability of T cells (including anti-GD2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells2) to penetrate into the core of cancer tumours.
- Primary supervisor: Professor John Anderson (UCL GOS Institute of Child Health)
- Secondary supervisor: Professor Tony Ng (KCL Comprehensive Cancer Centre) and Dr Jane Sosabowski (QMUL Barts Cancer Institute).
Candidates will need to qualify as UK/EU fee payers.
Closing date: Tuesday 14 April 2020
Project description
In this PhD doctoral study, we will use preclinical disease models such as patient derived tumour organoids (PDOs) and syngeneic tumour models1, to address how radiotherapy may impact on the ability of T cells (including anti-GD2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells2) to penetrate into the core of the tumour. We postulate that treatment resistance or disease recurrence following radiotherapy may be due to the inability of the immune cells to penetrate into the core of the tumour even though radiotherapy has ‘sensitised’ immune recognition.
Besides the main laboratory (Anderson lab) that provides training and knowledge on pediatric oncology and immunotherapy, the successful candidate will learn to use multiphoton optical imaging to visualise the cancer:immune interaction in 3D (Ng, KCL/UCL) as well as whole body imaging (Sosabowski, QMUL).
CoL Centre RadNet students will follow the CRUK CoL Centre PhD training programme. In addition to carrying out their PhD research and participating in core mandatory activities, each trainee will have a ‘customised’ training programme, which will be developed with their supervisors taking into account the trainee’s background and PhD project needs.
Mandatory training activities will include an induction programme to introduce trainees to doing a PhD, the Centre and its science, its infrastructure cores, experiment design, research integrity, and science project management. In addition, RadNet students will take part in multi-disciplinary radiation research workshops and seminars and participate in CoL cohort-building activities, including giving talks (as part of an annual Centre trainee meetings and Centre symposia), attending meetings, networking events, and seminars. The ‘customised’ elements of the programme will include short research placements, and training in a vast range of scientific and transferable skills, accessible via the Centre partners and beyond. There will also be a strong emphasis on career mentoring and support.
PhD students will follow the four-year CRUK CoL Centre PhD training programme and will be based in their primary supervisor’s research group. Students will register for their PhD at the primary supervisor’s university. All students will have a three-person thesis committee made up of Centre faculty that they will meet with regularly to discuss progress and receive guidance and advice.
1. Yogev, O. et al. In Vivo Modeling of Chemoresistant Neuroblastoma Provides New Insights into Chemorefractory Disease and Metastasis. Cancer Res 79, 5382-5393, doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-18-2759 (2019).
2. Fisher, J. et al. Avoidance of On-Target Off-Tumor Activation Using a Co-stimulation-Only Chimeric Antigen Receptor. Mol Ther 25, 1234-1247, doi:10.1016/j.ymthe.2017.03.002 (2017).
Other relevant publication: Fisher, J. et al. Single cell signaling analysis provides mechanistic context for chimeric antigen receptor design in cancer immunotherapy. 2019. Science Signaling. PMID: 31506382
More detailed information about the research project is available on request from Professor John Anderson at j.anderson@ucl.ac.uk.
- Person specification
Suitable candidates must have a minimum upper second-class Honours degree in an associated discipline, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. They must also have knowledge of molecular biology, immunology and imaging. Experience of laboratory techniques such as tissue culture, FACS, confocal microscopy and in vivo experience would also be desirable. Other essential criteria includes having potential to develop expertise in new areas of the subject; ability to develop understanding of complex problems and apply in-depth knowledge to address them; has potential for innovation and initiative, the ability to work both independently and as part of a team; and appropriate English language skills.
Funding and application
Funding will be for 4 years, with a tax free stipend of £21,000 per year plus UK/EU-level university fees. Due to funding body restrictions, only UK / EU nationals are eligible to apply for this programme.
The closing date is 14th April 2020 and the anticipated start date is spring/summer 2020.
To apply for this studentship, you must submit only two 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.
These two documents should then be emailed to Michelle Craft, RadNet City of London project manager, at m.tu@ucl.ac.uk.
Please write ‘Application for PhD Image guided targeting of neuroblastoma’ in the subject line of the email.
