PhD Studentship: New methods and applications of targeted degraders in cancer drug discovery

Award Summary

The projects have a 4 year duration with 100% fees covered, and a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £19,237 (2024/25 UKRI rate). An additional allowance will be provided to contribute towards consumables, equipment, and travel for the project.

Overview

Two studentships will work on the development of new technologies to degrade proteins and to apply them to innovative treatments for cancer within the Medicinal Chemistry group of the Cancer Research UK Newcastle Drug Discovery Centre.

Project 1, led by Dr. Celine Cano, will develop new heterobifunctional degraders (PROTACs) to exploit protein degradation as a potential treatment for prostate cancer.

Project 2, led by Prof. Mike Waring, will develop novel molecules that can induce degradation and new approaches to their synthesis using novel organic chemistry, including DNA-encoded methods.

Both projects will provide ideal training for students wishing to pursue research in drug discovery and will provide training in organic and medicinal chemistry as well as the opportunity to contribute to the discovery of potential new cancer medicines within an integrated drug discovery group.

The studentships are part of the a programme of research between Newcastle University and Cancer Research Horizons, Cancer Research UK’s new innovation engine for therapeutic innovation, and are aligned with the Molecular Sciences for Medicine (MoSMed) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) as part of the MoSMed2 programme.

Number Of Awards

2

Start Date

16th September 2024

Award Duration

4 years

Application Closing Date

15th April 2024

Sponsor

Newcastle University, Cancer Research Horizons

Supervisors

Prof. Mike Waring

Dr. Celine Cano

Eligibility Criteria

Please see the MoSMed website for further details regarding academic eligibility.

Home and international applicants (inc. EU) are welcome to apply and if successful will receive a full studentship. Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.

International applicants may require an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme ) clearance certificate prior to obtaining their visa and to study on this programme. 

How To Apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal  

Once registered select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.  

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:  

·        search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8100F

·        Research Area: Chemistry

·        Select ‘PhD Chemistry’ as the programme of study.

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:  

·        a ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form. Please include the full title of the studentship, the studentship code (mos2_01), and how your interests/experience relate to the project.

·        the relevant studentship code (mos2_01) in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field. You must include the relevant code for your application to be considered.

·        when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal - select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of this project. You do not need to upload a research proposal. Please specify if you would like to apply to Project 1, Project 2, or both.

In the ‘Supporting Documentation’ section please upload:

·        An up to date CV.

Please upload all documents in PDF format.

Contact Details

Mike Waring: [email protected]

Celine Cano: [email protected]