discernible effects, but a small minority can drive an HSC to divide and produce many copies (clones) of itself. This phenomenon, known as clonal haematopoiesis (CH), becomes very common with advancing age. Unfortunately, in some people CH progresses to a blood cancer like Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) or Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).
The Vassiliou Group investigates how these cancers develop, how they can identify people at risk of developing them and how they may be able to stop this from happening. In parallel, they explore how gene mutations make cells cancerous, apply genetic approaches to identify "weaknesses" of these cancerous cells and use these insights to develop new treatments against them.
Research Focus
The Vassiliou group seeks to understand the cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous processes involved in transformation of normal HSCs to leukaemic stem cells and to develop new therapeutic approaches to prevent and/or treat AML, MDS and related myeloid malignancies.
To achieve these aims, they use three main approaches:
- Application of genetic screens to identify and investigate genetic vulnerabilities of myeloid malignancies in order to develop new therapeutic approaches
- Generation and study of bespoke mouse models of somatic mutation drivers of myeloid malignancies, to define their molecular, genomic and phenotypic effects on haemopoietic stem and progenitor cells
- Investigation of the genetic, molecular and epidemiological basis of CH in healthy individuals, in order to predict and understand the drivers of leukaemic progression and develop new approaches for early detection and prevention of myeloid malignancies.
To Apply:
We encourage prospective PhD students to reach out directly to Professor Vassiliou, gsv20@cam.ac.uk to discuss potential projects and supervision.
Applicants must secure the support of a Supervisor within a laboratory before submitting an application. Please contact the project Supervisor(s) to discuss potential supervision, proposed research project and funding options, which should then be used to write your formal application.
Applications will be submitted to the 'PhD in Stem Cell Biology' and full course details can be found at https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/blscpdscp
Funding Notes
This is not a core-funded PhD programme, and candidates are therefore required to secure their own funding.
Please visit Postgraduate Funding | Cambridge Stem Cell Institute for funding available via the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute.
Funding options should be discussed on an individual basis with the proposed Supervisor before submitting an application.
Applicants are recommended to apply to the University funding scheme by ticking 'Yes - I wish to apply for funding ' in the funding section of the Applicant Portal, by the funding deadline. You will then automatically be considered for any University funding that you are eligible for.
To learn more about how to apply for University funding, please visit Postgraduate funding | Postgraduate Study
