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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
PI name & contact details:
Deniz Tasdemir, Established Professor of Marine Biodiscovery
School of Chemistry, NUI Galway
Phone: +353-(0)91-492450, Fax: +353-(0)91-495576
e-mail: deniz.tasdemir@nuigalway.ie
Co-PI name & contact details
Dr. Róisín Dwyer, Lecturer in Translational Science
Discipline of Surgery, School of Medicine, NUI Galway
Phone +353-(0)91-524390, Fax: +353-(0)91-494509
Email: Roisin.dwyer@nuigalway.ie
School:
School of Chemistry
Has project been agreed with head (or
nominee) of proposed registration
school?
Yes
Research Centre / group
affiliation:
Research group / centre
website:
Marine Biodiscovery Research Group
http://www.nuigalway.ie/chemistry/level2/staff/DenizTasdemir
/dtgrouppage.html
PI website / link to CV:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/chemistry/level2/staff/DenizTasdemir
/dtresearch.html
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max):
The research focus of the PI is mainly directed at discovery of new drugs and drug lead molecules
from marine organisms that can be developed pharmaceutically to treat human diseases, such as
cancer. It is a highly multisdisciplinary research subject, including natural product chemistry,
pharmacology, cellular and molecular cancer biology, clinical research.
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web):
Targeting cancer stem cells with marine natural products, a new approach in cancer drug
discovery and development
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a distinct group of self-renewing cells that are able to proliferate and
differentiate into multiple cell types. It is now widely accepted that many type of cancers are driven
by a small group of cancer stem cells. CSCs are believed to be associated with failure in chemo- or
radiotherapy that lead to relapse or metastasis of the disease, as the current anticancer agents are
ineffective against CSCs. By selectively targeting the CSCs, it would be possible to treat many
aggressive and/or metastatic tumors and improve patient survival. Therefore CSCs offer an
emerging and thriving new field of research.
Cancer drug discovery has been the main stream of marine natural products research, already
yielding several compounds (Yondelis®, Halaven®) approved for the treatment of human cancers.
However, CSCs has remained an untouched area in marine natural product discovery. The aim of
this project hence will be identifying novel compounds from marine organisms that target cancer
stem cells in breast tumours at the co-PI’s lab in NUIG. It will involve testing of crude marine extracts
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
against breast cancer cell lines and primary cultures of breast tissue specimens. The effect of
extracts on cell viability, proliferation, migration and invasion will be determined, with a particular
focus on cells expressing markers associated with CSCs (CD44+CD24lo, ALDH1+). The promising
extracts with high cytostatic/cytotoxic activity will be purified by various chromatographic methods
by using in vitro assays as a guide. Flow cytometry will be used to determine the cell population
upon which the marine extract is most effective. Chemical characterization of the active
constituents of the extracts will be performed by high resolution spectroscopy methods (NMR, MS,
LC-MS). The mode of action of the active constituents will then be determined, e.g. if cell death is
induced, it will be determined whether this was mediated through apoptosis and whether the
caspase cascade was activated. Changes in cancer-associated gene and protein expression profiles
can also be monitored in response to the extract of interest. This project is expected to yield marine
natural products with a novel mode of anticancer activity. Such compounds may have realistic
potential to developed commercially.
Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway:
This multidisciplinary project will provide the student with a range of techniques at the cutting edge
of natural product chemistry, molecular/cell biology and various aspects of cancer research. This will
prepare the student for a career in anticancer drug discovery in an academic or industrial settings.
Moreover, Chemistry PhD programme will provide the student with a diverse range of additional
subject-specific and non-specific didactic elements as part of the structured PhD programme.
The student will have access to the following:
 A state of the art infrastructure in natural products chemistry at the PI’s research group
(automated fractionation techniques, HPLC, UPLC-MS/MS) and in School of Chemistry (400,
500, 600 NMR with cryoprobe, LC-MS, X-ray crystallography)

A wide range of expertise/training including the areas of drug discovery, natural products
chemistry, cancer cell and molecular biology, translational research

Collaboration with Discipline of Surgery and National Breast Cancer Research Institute
research groups in NUIG will provide access to core technical facilities e.g. cell culture, flow
cytometry, immunohistochemical analysis, CSC identification, RNA extraction, RQ-PCR

A wide network of collaborating researchers (academic and industrial) in Ireland and
worldwide
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Pharmacy, Chemistry, Biomedical Sciences, Biology, Cell biology, Pharmacology
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
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
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Computing
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
X
Sustainable Agricultural Production
Oil, Gas and Coal
Renewable Energy
Minerals, Minerals Technology
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): _ Y____
Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): N
Suitable for either/Don’t know: _____