EASTBIO: Decoding metastatic niche selection in canine oral melanoma using patient-derived organoid-on-chip models

This PhD will use naturally occurring canine oral mucosal melanoma as a biologically and clinically relevant model to investigate the mechanisms that govern metastatic dissemination and tissue-specific niche selection. The project builds on an established biobank of patient-derived canine melanoma organoids, existing tonsillar and lymph node-derived organoid models, archived matched tissues, molecular datasets, and preliminary microfluidic data showing melanoma-cell migration through channel-based systems.

The student will first establish a quantitative lymph-node-on-a-chip model by integrating patient-derived tumour organoids with lymphoid niche models in a perfused microfluidic platform. Live-cell imaging and computational cell tracking will be used to measure tumour-cell escape, migration dynamics, barrier crossing, dissemination frequency and colonisation efficiency across independent organoid lines. These data will define patient-specific “dissemination phenotypes” and identify reproducible high- and low-disseminating tumour states. These quantitative readouts build directly on the feasibility and dissemination framework established in the preliminary work.

The second phase will investigate the biological basis of these phenotypes. Disseminated and non-disseminated tumour cells, together with matched niche compartments, will undergo histopathological, immunophenotypic and transcriptional profiling. Integrating these data with existing molecular datasets will identify tumour-intrinsic and microenvironmental features associated with metastatic competence, generating candidate pathways for functional testing within the chip platform.

Finally, the platform will be extended to additional metastatic niches to test whether individual tumour organoids show reproducible tissue preferences and determine how secondary microenvironments shape metastatic colonisation and organotropism. This extends the multi-organ direction already envisaged in the preliminary programme.

This interdisciplinary project combines veterinary oncology, tumour biology and bioengineering. The student will receive training in patient-derived organoid culture, microfluidic device design and fabrication, perfusion culture, advanced live-cell imaging, quantitative image analysis, histopathology, transcriptomics and integrative data analysis. The project will provide a mechanistic framework for understanding metastatic behaviour in canine cancer while establishing scalable microphysiological systems for studying fundamental questions in metastasis biology.

This 4 year PhD project is part of a competition funded by EASTBIO BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). Detailed guidance on the application process, and the EASTBIO Application and Reference Forms can be found at How to Apply | Biology.

Please send your completed EASTBIO Application Form along with a copy of your academic transcripts (as a pdf) to RDSVS.Studentship.Applications@ed.ac.uk. You should also contact your referees and ask them to submit their references (on the EASTBIO reference form template) to RDSVS.Studentship.Applications@ed.ac.uk by the application deadline of 16th November 2026.

Funding Notes

This opportunity is open to UK and international students and provides funding covering stipend and UK level tuition fees. The University of Edinburgh covers the difference between home and international fees meaning that the EASTBIO DTP offers fully-funded studentships to all appointees. There is a cap on the number of international students the DTP recruits. It is therefore important for us to know from the outset which fees status category applicants will fall under when applying to our University.

Please refer to UKRI website and Annex B of the UKRI Training Grant Terms and Conditions for full eligibility criteria.