Malignancy of unknown origin: Solving the origin to improve treatments and outcomes
Closing date: 09/06/2025
MB-PhD Summer Placement Project: Malignancy of unknown origin: Solving the origin to improve treatments and outcomes
Lead Supervisors: Dr Natalie Cook
Applications Deadline: Monday 9th June 2025
Project Keywords: Cancer of unknown primary (CUP); Cancer clinical trials; Biomarker development; Blood based assays
Research Opportunity: MB-PhD Summer Placement Project
MB-PhD Summer Placement Project Outline
This is a collaborative project involving the cancer of unknown primary (CUP) Research Team at the Christie NHS Trust and the CRUK National Biomarker Centre (NBC). Most of the work will be in-person, and time will be split between observing work at The Christie Hospital (under Dr Natalie Cook), which will include attendance at the CUP Multidisciplinary Team meeting as an observer, genomics board discussions, meeting a patient representative and a GP.
The time in NBC will be spent with the Nucleic acid biomarkers (NAB) team under Dr Alicia-Marie Conway and Dr Alexandra Clipson, and they will have opportunities to observe lab processes and attend any lab meetings taking place. They will also have an opportunity to have discussions with the NBC Bioinformatics and Biostatistics team (Dr Steven Hill) to obtain an overview of the bioinformatics and machine learning workflows that are a key component of our work on CUP.
Key activities
Christie NHS Trust: Attendance at CUP MDT, genomics board and CUP clinic (to understand the patient pathway, complex genomics and delays in diagnosis these patients face); Liaising with the GP and patient representative to understand the transitions between primary and secondary care in cancer management. Meeting with the CUP research team and project managers to understand how research is making a difference and how integration of clinical trials is key to improving outcomes.
CRUK NBC: Attendance at laboratory meetings, observing laboratory experiments, sample processing and handling within the NAB and Rare Cells Team. Observation of the tissue of origin assay “CUPiD” workflow, from blood sample receipt, cfDNA processing, methylation enrichment and sequencing through to bioinformatics data processing and analysis.
Supervisor style
You will have contact with someone from the lab team every day of the placement and we will also offer training in the potential areas of PhD research going forward.
About Dr Natalie Cook (project Lead Supervisor)
Dr Cook’s research focuses on development of early phase clinical trials of experimental anti-cancer therapies, translational assay development and early phase trials for gastrointestinal cancers
She is interested in teaching and supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate students in health-related specialities
Key information
Find answers to some common questions about our MB-PhD Studentships.
To apply for our MB-Phd Summer Placement Project, you must be:
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A current MBChB student (year 1 or year 2 of the MBChB or year 1 of GEM) at one of the following universities:
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The University of Manchester
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The University of Leeds
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The University of St Andrews (Medicine Manchester Pathway)
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Interested in pursuing a clinical academic career combining medical training with research in Cancer Sciences.
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Available to undertake the summer placement during the specified dates set out in the project details.
If you meet these criteria, we encourage you to apply and explore what a clinical academic career in cancer research could offer you.
Summer research opportunities include lab visits and research placements.
Lab visits will usually be one day in length and might include, but are not limited to: shadowing a staff member/PhD student; attending lab group/journal club meetings; assisting with any applicable experiments.
The length and start date of research placements will be agreed between staff and students, but would usually be one week maximum.
We encourage students to apply for many different opportunities to gauge interest in different supervisory teams.
Travel and accommodation reimbursements can be provided to summer research opportunity students where appropriate, with agreement from Dr Yasmin Noori, Postgraduate Programme Manager. Please apply for relevant opportunities, and we can discuss this post-application.
Students who are interested in any of the below opportunities should send the following details to Dr Yasmin Noori yasamin.noorijenaghard@manchester.ac.uk by Monday, 9th June 2025:
- Your name
- Institution
- Current year of study
- Are you intending to apply to the MB-Phd programme in future? (Yes/No/Undecided)
- Supervisor preference(s) [use staff members’ names] – please also indicate preference for research placement and/or lab visit with the relevant staff member/s if appropriate
- Supporting statement: 200 words maximum on why you are interested in the opportunities you have selected
Preference is likely to be given to students who are eligible to apply to the MB-PhD in the 2025-26 recruitment round.
Key dates
- Application deadline: Monday, 9th June 2025
- Decisions relayed to students: w/c 16th June 2025
- Start date: By the end of September 2025
Useful Links
MB-PhD Studentships
Find out more about our MB-PhD Studentships which allow you to study a fully-funded PhD alongside your medical degree.
Get in Touch
Contact Yasmin Noori, Postgraduate Programme Manager.
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