Cellular factors affecting responses to novel therapeutics in lung adenocarcinoma

Home Opportunities For Research MB-PhD Summer Placement Cellular factors affecting responses to novel therapeutics in lung adenocarcinoma

Closing date: 09/06/2025

MB-PhD Summer Placement Project: Cellular factors affecting responses to novel therapeutics in lung adenocarcinoma

Lead Supervisors: Prof. Angeliki Malliri

Applications Deadline: Monday 9th June 2025

Project Keywords: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); Small cell lung cancer (SCLC); SCLC plasticity; metastasis; resistance to pharmacological inhibitors
Research Opportunity: MB-PhD Summer Placement Project

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MB-PhD Summer Placement Project Outline

The aim of the placement will be to introduce the student to the work performed in our lab by talking to all lab members and by shadowing one lab member in lab techniques they’ll be performing that week. The student will also be performing a mini-project by culturing a cell line, treating it with a pharmacological inhibitor and if time permits performing a viability assay.

Moreover, the student will attend our group meeting where two lab members will be presenting and will also be able to attend the group meeting of my close clinical collaborator Dr Colin Lindsay. Because of the above, an in-person or hybrid working arrangement will be a better experience for the student.

Key activities

More specifically and in terms of lab work, the student will be taught how to culture KRAS mutant non-small cell lung cancer cells, to treat them with available KRAS inhibitors and (if time permits) to perform viability assays. It will then be discussed/showed to the student how follow-up western blotting and small GTPase activity assays could be used to determine the activity of pathways downstream of KRAS. Moreover, it will also be discussed with the student how epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition can affect responses to KRAS inhibitors. We will also show the student the pilot data we have indicating that the small GTPase RAC controls the shape of the nucleus and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinoma cells and describe a potential project aiming to understand the mechanisms by which the shape of the nucleus controls epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and responses to novel KRAS inhibitors.

Supervisor style

Our lab is focusing on understanding the mechanisms controlling cell invasion and metastasis as well as response to therapies in KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinoma and small-cell lung cancer. The supervisory environment is welcoming and supportive and values inclusivity and diversity. The main supervisor has closely supervised/is supervising 20 PhD students, all of whom successfully defended their theses.

About Prof. Angeliki Malliri (project Lead Supervisor)

The main focus of Professor Angeliki Malliri’s research is investigating whether signalling by the small GTPase RAC1 could be a good therapeutic target in lung cancer and specifically in KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinoma (KRASm-LUAD) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). KRASm-LUAD and SCLC are major causes of morbidity and mortality, reflecting significant unmet clinical needs. RAC1 is required for KRASm-LUAD development and controls migration and invasion, cardinal features of malignant progression.

Professor Malliri is currently evaluating the contribution of RAC1-GEF-signalling to KRASm-LUAD development and progression, and whether inhibiting RAC1-GEF signalling can sensitise KRASm-LUADs to KRAS inhibitors that have recently entered the clinic.

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