Version 2
Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
PhD Project Template



Use one form per project
Please complete & submit to international@nuigalway.ie as soon as possible, and by 27/11/2012
In your email, begin the subject line with [SWB] (be sure to use square brackets) to ensure that
your email is filed correctly. Emails will be automatically filed
PI name & contact details:
Dr. Eva Szegezdi
School:
School of Natural Sciences
Has project been agreed with head (or
nominee) of proposed registration school?
Research Centre / group affiliation:
Apoptosis Research Centre/TRAIL Research Group
Research group / centre website:
www.apoptosis.ie
PI website / link to CV:
http://www.apoptosis.ie/szegezdi.html
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max):
If you are already involved in relevant scholarly activities relating to Brazil, please mention them here.
The aim of the Apoptosis Research Centre is to create a focused, interactive and dynamic research
environment, where researchers can come together to understand the complex pathways leading to
cell death and can apply this knowledge to the discovery of novel therapies for the treatment of a
wide ranges of diseases.
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web):
Development of treatment strategies to target and eradicate leukemic stem cells
AML is a devastating disease. Despite the fact that a large percentage of patients respond to the
initial treatment, 70-90% of the patients relapse within 5 years. Relapse is brought about by a small
proportion of AML cells which survive the treatment and re-establish the tumour. These so called
leukaemia stem cells (LSC) act as AML initiating cells, and unless the therapy eradicates these cells,
the disease relapses. It is not understood yet why LSCs are more resistant to therapy than AML
blasts, but the bone marrow microenvironment where the LSC reside has been shown to be crucial.
In the current project we propose to develop new model systems that can recapitulate the bone
marrow-AML environment including cell-cell, cell-ECM and cell-cytokine interactions and hypoxic
environment.
This model would be used to identify new, more efficient therapeutics for AML and identify
treatments that can eradicate the LSC population. Identified potential therapeutics will then be
tested in animal models of human primary leukemia samples. The project will run as a collaborative
project between the TRAIL Research laboratory and the Haematology Clinic.
Version 2
Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway:
The graduate student studying this project will gain a broad spectrum of scientific experience in the
fields of: molecular and cell biology, cancer research and clinical hematology providing an excellent
foundation to pursue translational cancer research.
The student will join a structured PhD training programme with an opportunity to attend specialised
classes such as molecular and clinical cancer biology, journal clubs, statistics and scientific writing to
prepare postgraduate students for their careers ahead. The structured PhD training involved annual
appraisal and mentoring to support the career development of the student.
The student will regularly attend international conferences to broaden their knowledge and meet with
the leaders of the scientific community.
The graduate student will also gain experience in a wide range of state-of-the-art technologies,
including flow cytometry, live confocal microscopy, isolation of leukemic stem cells, ex vivo and in
vivo AML animal models as well as most standard molecular and cell biology techniques.
The candidate will join the Apoptosis Research Centre where 7 renowned research groups with a
broad range of international collaborations and industry connections collaborate.
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Biochemistry,
Genetics
Molecular biology
Pharmacology
Cell Biology
Medicine
and related disciplines
Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only
one (tick box):
Engineering and other technological areas
Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)/Physical Sciences (Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geosciences)
Health and Biomedical Sciences / Clinical, Pré-clinical and Health Sciences
X
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Computing
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
Sustainable Agricultural Production
Oil, Gas and Coal
Renewable Energy
Minerals, Minerals Technology
Version 2
Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology and New Materials
Technologies for Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters
Bioprospecting and Biodiversity
Marine Sciences
Creative Industry
New technologies in constructive engineering
Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders
arrangements):
Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N):
Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N):
Suitable for either/Don’t know: __Y___