Dr Georgia Atkin-Smith and A/Prof Edwin Hawkins are seeking a highly motivated and talented student to commence a PhD in 2025 within their team at the WEHI (Inflammation Division). Georgia is an expert in cell death, efferocytosis, imaging, which she applies to understand cancer biology. Notably, Georgia and Edwin specialise in intravital microscopy of the bone marrow calvarium – a high-resolution microscopy technique that can image directly inside the bone marrow of live mice. This exciting PhD project offers the opportunity to work with cutting-edge microscopy techniques to explore the complexities of cancer biology. It will implement a range of techniques including intravital, confocal and multiphoton microscopy, flow cytometry and spatial transcriptomics to study how blood cancers develop within the bone marrow and respond to therapy. It will examine how the immune system can recognise and remove dying cancer cells, and how cancer may evade this process to develop resistance. The overall goal of this project is to generate new understanding to improve the efficacy of anti-cancer therapeutics.
Requirements:
- Strong background in biology, biomedicine, or related fields
- Wet lab-based skills
- A passion for research and scientific discovery
- Motivated, independent, and eager to push the boundaries of knowledge
- Previous experience in microscopy is not required but preferred
