Cancer cachexia is a wasting syndrome defined by ongoing loss of skeletal muscle and/or fat mass which cannot be restored by nutritional support. The condition severely impacts quality of life and the ability for patients to tolerate additional anticancer treatment. Cachexia is part of the common functional decline affecting 80% of advanced cancer patients and is responsible for an estimated 30% of cancer deaths. At present, there is no approved cure, and the underlying mechanisms of this debilitating condition are poorly understood.
The Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute specializes in research towards metabolic changes in cancer. We use state-of-the-art preclinical mouse models to identify metabolic programmes that may underly the onset or progression of cachexia in bowel cancer. The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary team of cancer biologists and research-active clinicians. Using in vitro and in vivo experiments, we aim to identify metabolic regulators of cancer cachexia while also validating our findings in cancer patient cohorts. Ultimately, our goal is to develop new therapies for cancer cachexia.
We will study systemic metabolic alterations which associate with cachexia in preclinical models of CRC and in CRC patients. A better understanding of these processes is critical for the development of effective therapies for this devastating disease.
The successful candidate will be trained in preclinical models of colorectal cancer and will work with patient data and samples to evaluate incidence of cachexia.
State-of-the-art metabolomics will be employed to study metabolic alterations in samples from in vitro and in vivo experiments, and from cancer patient cohorts. This will include both targeted and untargeted approaches using the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry platforms available at the CRUK Scotland Institute.
Mechanistic studies will be performed using standard molecular biology techniques (e.g. qPCR, western blotting, etc.).
The successful candidate will be embedded in the research teams of Dr Johan Vande Voorde, Prof Campbell Roxburgh and Prof Owen Sansom. Furthermore, they will benefit from close interaction with other clinical and academic partners (including Prof Nigel Jamieson, Mr Ross Dolan, Dr David Sumpton and Dr Nesibe Peker).
For questions regarding the application process, PhD programme/studentships at the CRUK Scotland Institute or any other queries, please contact phdstudentships@crukscotlandinstitute.ac.uk.
Applications are open to all individuals irrespective of nationality or country of residence.