Funding available
For information about PhD opportunities, please email. Projects are usually submitted through doctoral training schemes. Links to some of these are provided below.
KCL medical research council doctoral training program
For more information about this doctoral training program, please see https://kcl-mrcdtp.com/
Applications for September 2026 entry have now closed.
bbsrc london interdisciplinary doctoral training program
For more information about this doctoral training program, please see here: https://www.lido-dtp.ac.uk/
Applications for September 2026 entry have now closed.
genome data science for therapeutic target discovery king’s doctoral training programme
Applications for September 2026 entry close on 28th February, 2026. Please see the link below for details
Uncovering the role of transfer RNA in human cancers
Supervisor 1: Dr Michelle Holland, Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Basic and Medical Biosciences, FoLSM
Supervisor 2: Dr Richard Dillon, Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Basic and Medical Biosciences, FoLSM
Contact: michelle.holland@kcl.ac.uk and richard.dillon@kcl.ac.uk
Project Abstract: Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) perform a critical function in gene expression as adapter molecules required for the translation of the nucleic acid sequence of messenger RNA (mRNA) into the amino acid sequence of the cognate protein. There are more than 600 predicted tRNA genes in humans which have only recently been found to be dynamically regulated in tissue and disease contexts. The multicopy nature of tRNAs has historically posed technical challenges for investigating the extent of genetic variation of tRNA genes at population scale as it requires whole genome sequencing (WGS) data to be available for large cohorts. However, small-scale studies have suggested that both copy number variation and sequence variation are common. Such genetic variation could influence tRNA functions in mRNA translation and beyond through influencing abundance and function by altering the tRNA modification profile or otherwise. Changes in tRNA abundance have recently been recognised as a common feature of many cancers, suggesting that they could be a potential therapeutic target. The aim of this project is to utilise the WGS data available from The Cancer Programme of the 100,000 Genomes Project to gain an understanding of the breadth of germline variation at tRNA genes in humans and to identify any common signatures of how this may be altered in the context of cancer. To understand how genetic variation links to tRNA abundance and modification profile, direct RNA sequencing will be employed in relevant models. Finally, functional impact will be defined through targeted genetic approaches and small molecule disruption. This work sets out to identify if tRNAs are a tractable therapeutic target in cancers.