Project details

Most tumours that originate in the brain are heterogeneous and poorly treatable. A major barrier to successful therapies is our lack of understanding of the heterogeneity in the tumour microenvironment that significantly contributes to the tumour fitness. In particular, the higher energy needs of the tumour are met by reprogrammed metabolic interactions. New technologies that measure metabolites in space allow us to investigate these interactions. The aim of this project is to generate and bioinformatically investigate the spatial metabolism across brain cancers. To this end, the student will develop computational frameworks for this investigation, analyse metabolomic data, liaise Spatial Metabolomics (Bio21) and validate findings. The student will learn about the development and implementation of new bioinformatics analyses, as well as the design of spatial omics experiments.

About our research group

The Brain Cancer Research Laboratory is a young lab led with interdisciplinary skills at its core. Co-led by Dr Jim Whittle (neurooncologist), Dr Saskia Freytag (bioinformatician) and Dr Sarah Best (fundamental biology), we drive research projects with a strong multidisciplinary focus. Our research aims to develop improved diagnostics, treatments and pre-clinical models to ultimately improve the survival of patients with brain cancer. Our research combines clinical and pre-clinical models with advanced genomics technologies and bioinformatic analyses to improve the cancer therapeutic landscape.