Phd Studentship in Multi-omics in Population Cohorts - Cambridge, United Kingdom - University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

Verified Company

Cambridge, United Kingdom

3 weeks ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

The Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge is looking for an ambitious self-motivated student to undertake a 3-year PhD studentship to combine multi-omics data (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics etc) and electronic health record (EHR) data in multiple large-scale population cohorts to address questions relating to causes and predictors of common complex disease.

The studentship is funded by the Health Data Research (HDR) UK Molecules to Health Records (MTHR) grant at the University of Cambridge.

The project will be based within the 'Population System Genomics and EHR' subtheme.

Background:

The aim of this programme is to capitalise on the UK's great strengths in well-established longitudinal population cohorts (e.g., UK Biobank, INTERVAL) that combine linkage to NHS health record systems, genetic and genomic information, and wide-angle multi-omics assays that capture thousands of molecular analytes in blood.

These powerful large-scale resources can be harnessed to understand biological processes, evaluate causes of diseases singly and in combination (multimorbidity), identify potential drug targets, discover disease subtypes, and create disease prediction algorithms.

The project will build on the HDR UK Multiomics Cohorts Consortium, a collection of 15 UK population cohorts involving >800,000 participants and involve cohorts in low
- and middle-income countries to enhance diversity.

Project:

Examples of specific research projects could include:

Understanding the role of the genome in regulating levels of molecular analytes;
Evaluating specific protein/metabolite pathways for causal effects on disease, informing therapeutic targets;
Conducting wideangle causal inference studies to prioritise causal risk factors for complex diseases;
Testing the ability of multiomics platforms to improve existing clinical risk prediction algorithms;
Assessing novel multiomics assay platforms.

Specific topics will be developed by the student and supervisory team, led by Professor Adam Butterworth.

HDR UK is the national institute for data science and healthcare and provides a multi-faceted environment for PhD studies.

The Molecules to Health Records Driver Programme, led by the Wellcome Sanger Institute in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford, provides an exciting and comprehensive programme of research which will enhance any research project.

The student will also be encouraged to closely interact with other groups within the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, and to work with our academic and clinical partners to ensure their work could have real-world impact.

Value to the Student:

The student will develop valuable skills in working with large-scale data (including genomics, multi-omics, and electronic health records), programming in statistical software packages (e.g., in R, Python), and working as part of a team.

They will have the opportunity to conduct analyses such as genome
- and exome-wide association studies, multi-trait colocalization, Mendelian randomization, time-to-event regression analyses, prediction modelling etc.

To check if your international qualification meets the University minimum requirement, please consult the International section of our website.

How to apply

Course details:
PhD in Public Health & Primary Care (Full-time)

Start Date:
October 2024 or earlier. Supervisor(s):

Professor Adam Butterworth Research Title:
PhD Studentship