Does the vault particle contribute to chemotherapy resistance in head and neck cancer?

Project description:

Head and neck cancer (HNC) has a poor prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of ~50%. Treatment of HNC usually involves a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. HNC has a high recurrence rate (20-30%), which may be partly due to development of resistance to chemotherapeutic agents.

The vault particle was identified 30 years ago and is the largest known ribonucleoprotein complex in eukaryotic cells, with a mass of ~13 MDa. Despite their massive size, vault particles are composed predominantly of a single polypeptide, the major vault protein (MVP), which accounts for >70% of the total particle mass. The remainder of the particle is formed by two other protein subunits, VPARP and TEP1, and a vault RNA (vtRNA). The definitive cellular function of the vault particle remains controversial, but it has been implicated multi-drug resistance. Interestingly, vtRNA have been shown to protect cells from undergoing apoptosis. We have recently shown the presence of vault particles in the extracellular space (https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.09.566362).

This project will use a variety of cell and molecular biology techniques to investigate the role of the vault particle in HNC chemotherapy resistance. You will receive training in cell culture; cell viability assays; flow cytometry; isolation and characterisation of extracellular particles; QPCR and western blotting. You will also be trained to use the newly purchased Flow NanoAnalyzer to characterise extracellular particles by nanoflowcytometry.

Please contact Dr Stuart Hunt (s.hunt@sheffield.ac.uk) if you have any questions about the project.

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/dentalschool/our-people/academic-staff/stuart-hunt

https://twitter.com/Dr_Stuart_Hunt

The Faculty of Health is offering a number of scholarships for the academic year 2024/5 for eligible students. This project is being considered for the Faculty, PGT>PGR and Underrepresented Student scholarship schemes. You do not need to apply more than once as your application will automatically be considered for all scholarships based on your eligibility criteria. 

Students worldwide are welcome to apply but will need to fund the overseas fee difference of around £24,000 per year but will not be eligible for the Underrepresented Student scheme.

PGT>PGR

We are accepting applications from current and past (who have graduated in 2022 & 2023) PGT students from the Faculty of Health.

Underrepresented Student

We are accepting applications for the University of Sheffield Research Scholarships for Black or Black British (of African or Caribbean heritage), Asian or Asian British (of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian heritage) or multiple ethnic background including one of the ethnicity groups listed above.  

The University of Sheffield is committed to increasing opportunities in doctoral research for particular minoritised students who are currently under-represented in our postgraduate research student population.

Candidates will be required to complete a declaration form and upload it to their application.  Applicants with overseas fee status are NOT eligible for these awards.

How to apply:

Please complete a University Postgraduate Research Application form available here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/applying.  Candidates applying for the BAME scheme will be required to complete a declaration form and upload it to their application.

Please clearly state the prospective main supervisor in the respective box and select ‘School of Clinical Dentistry’ as the department.

Proposed start date:

October 2024

Entry Requirements:

Candidates must have a first or upper second class honours degree or significant research experience.