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School of Life Sciences Studentship (Biochemistry) (2025)

What you get

This School-funded position covers ºìÐÓÊÓƵ (UK) tuition fees and a stipend at standard UKRI rates for 3.5 years. Applicants with overseas fee status need to provide evidence of how they will fund the difference between ºìÐÓÊÓƵ and International tuition fees (approx. £20k per year). 

Type of award

Postgraduate Research

PhD project

Project 1

Course: Biochemistry PhD : ºìÐÓÊÓƵ

Supervisors: Dr Rhys Morgan & Dr David Palmer

Contact: rhys.morgan@sussex.ac.uk

Project Title: Targeting RUNX1 in myeloid malignancies

Project Description:

Myeloid malignancies are a heterogeneous group of haematological malignancies, enriched for somatic mutations in transcription factors which govern haematopoietic stem cell differentiation. The RUNX1 transcription factor is critical for healthy haematopoiesis and somatic RUNX1 mutations occur frequently across myeloid malignancies, including acute myeloid leukaemia, where they occur at a rate of 5-10%, associated with adverse outcomes. RUNX1 mutations are extremely heterogeneous, frequently clustering in the DNA-binding runt homology domain, occurring as missense, frameshift(indel), non-sense, and splice-site mutations. Through a dominant negative effect, or haploinsufficiency, they can lead to a loss of function. However, c-terminal mutations, may induce alternative mechansims for leukaemogenesis, creating aberrant RUNX1 transcripts not subject to non-sense mediated decay.

 RUNX1 is a critical regulator of ribosomal RNA transcription and more recently we have demonstrated that RUNX1 impacts RNA processing (unpublished). Furthermore, recent unpublished data from our group also demonstrates that RUNX1-deficient myeloid cells exhibit elevated ribosome biogenesis, rendering them selectively more sensitive to mTOR or protein translation inhibitors. This, coupled with existing data showing that specific RUNX1 mutations can impact these critical cellular processes, suggests the existence of a therapeutic window whereby a more mutationally-tailored approach to targeting RUNX1 mutations in myeloid malignancies may be viable. The major aim of this study is to precisely define which RUNX1 mutations dysregulate RNA processing, and whether they can be targeted using new and existing protein translation inhibitors. The successful candidate will work within a multi-disciplinary, cross-institutional research team adopting a wide range of cellular, computational and molecular techniques (including CRISPR/Cas9 editing) to examine the impact of different RUNX1 mutations on the growth, differentiation, and survival of primary and immortalised haematopoietic cells.

The project will advance our understanding of how different RUNX1 mutations contribute to leukaemogenesis, and examine the feasibility of introducing mutation-specific treatment protocols for myeloid leukaemia patients harbouring RUNX1 aberrations. 

Eligibility

Candidates should have or expect to obtain a minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree. An MSc degree will be advantageous. You may also be considered for the position if you have other professional qualifications or experience of equivalent standing. 

Candidates for whom English is not their first language will require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall or equivalent proficiency - English language requirements 

Applications are particularly welcomed from candidates with protected characteristics – e.g., from Black and other ethnic minorities who are under-represented in postgraduate research at our institution. 

Deadline

25 June 2025 23:45

How to apply

Please submit a formal application via the Postgraduate application system attaching a CV, degree transcripts and certificates, and two academic referees. A research proposal is not required. Instead, please upload a personal statement describing your skills and experience, motivation for Doctoral Research, future goals, and why you are applying to this project. 

On the application system, please select ‘funding obtained’ and complete the text boxes with “as stated in the advert”. Please state the supervisor’s name where required. 

Sponsors

 In the School of Life Sciences we strive to understand the mechanisms that drive biological and chemical processes and to develop innovative and diverse approaches to enhance human health, technology and the environment. We undertake multidisciplinary research, teaching and engagement across a wide range of subjects, from Chemistry through Cellular and Molecular Biosciences to Conservation Biology. 

The School comprises five Departments: Biochemistry & Biomedicine, Genome Damage and Stability Centre, Neuroscience, Ecology & Evolution and Chemistry. We also house the Sussex Drug Discovery Centre which works to deliver the bench-to-bedside translation of our discoveries. The breadth and depth of our cutting-edge research and innovative teaching practice is delivered by a diverse community who work across boundaries to deliver excellence, engage with real world problems and produce impact. 

We pride ourselves on our world-leading research and have a strong research economy, with approximately 50% of our income stemming from research and an active grant portfolio of over £50 million. We host or form part of three University Centres of Excellence: the Genome Damage and Stability Centre, Sussex Neuroscience and Sussex Sustainability Research Programme. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, 90.6 % of our Biological Sciences outputs and 84.8% of our Chemistry outputs were rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. We are proud that in both areas, 100% of our Impact cases were rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

The School is committed to the University’s core values of kindness, integrity, inclusion, collaboration and courage. We believe that equality, diversity and inclusion is everyone’s responsibility and aim to provide a friendly and supportive environment for all who work, study and visit the School of Life Sciences. In recognition of our work in gender equality we are proud to hold an  Silver Award.

Contact us

For queries about the application process, please see the online application guide or contact Emma Chorley: lifesci-rec@sussex.ac.uk 

For enquiries about the project, please contact the supervisor.