Post-doctoral Training Fellow, Gene Function team

The Breast Cancer Now Centre is the first centre in the UK entirely devoted to breast cancer research, with the goal to advance research into the causes, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The Centre is directed by Professor Andrew Tutt and is located in state-of-the-art laboratory space, with excellent core facilities and funding.

About the Gene Function team

The Gene Function Laboratory focuses upon identifying and understanding tumour specific dependencies, such as synthetic lethal effects, as a means to design novel approaches to treating cancer. We have made major advances in identifying synthetic lethal interactions involving, for example, PARP inhibitors (Farmer et al Nature (2005), Edwards et al Nature (2008), Bajrami et al, Cancer Research (2014)), ATR inhibitors (Williamson et al, Nature Communications (2016)) and ROS1 inhibitors (Bajrami et al, Cancer Discovery (2018)). Using this same concept we have also systematically identified synthetic lethal interactions in breast cancer (Brough et al, Cancer Discovery (2011), Campbell et al, Cell Reports (2016)). We also use genetic approaches to understand the mechanisms of action of agents that target the DNA damage response (Pettitt et al; Krastev et al Nature Communications (2018)) We aim to generate pre-clinical information that can inform the design of clinical trials and the identification of novel targets for drug discovery programmes.

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Training Fellow to study the response of patients to agents targeting the DNA damage response (DDR; e.g. PARP or ATR inhibitors), with the express aim of developing better ways to treat the disease. This project will make use of biopsy samples from patients who have responded well or poorly to these agents to identify candidate genes that may influence sensitivity and resistance. These genes will be characterized in appropriate model systems to investigate the mechanism of action. This project would suit candidates with a background or interest in the biology of DNA repair, replication stress or genome instability. The successful candidate will use a range of genetic and molecular biology techniques to discover and characterize these interactions, including: CRISPR, siRNA and drug screens, analysis of clinical sequencing and public genetic dependency data, patient-derived organoids and xenografts, and appropriate cell cycle and DNA repair assays. We anticipate that the project will lead to a better understanding of response to DDR targeted agents in the clinic. This could result in proposals for new targets for future drug discovery projects, or hypotheses for clinical trials of combination therapies.

This is a fixed term appointment for 3 years in the first instance. Appointments will be made in the salary range *£32,844 p.a. to £41,718 p.a. inclusive. Starting salary will be based on previous postdoctoral experience.

*£32,844 p.a. inclusive for thesis submitted, awaiting PhD award

To apply please submit an online application and your CV on our site, job ref 1121