Job Opportunities

A fully funded PhD scholarship is available in Adam Wilkinson's lab at the University of Cambridge Department of Haematology and Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI) to begin in October 2025.

Dr Wilkinson has won significant long term funding from the Wellcome Trust and Krishnan-Ang Foundation and is relocating his lab to CSCI from Oxford (https://www.rdm.ox.ac.uk/about/our-divisions/nuffield-division-of-clinical-laboratory-sciences/nuffield-division-of-clinical-laboratory-sciences-research/wilkinson-group). Dr Wilkinson's research focusses on expanding and manipulating haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) ex vivo. He has pioneered highly influential new methods to expand transplantable HSCs long-term ex vivo (Wilkinson et al, Nature, 2019; Igarashi et al, Blood Advances, 2023; Sakurai et al, Nature, 2023; Bozhilov et al, bioRxiv, 2024) which are now in use worldwide. These methods enable efficient CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and genetic screens in functional HSCs (Wilkinson et al, Nature Communications, 2021; Becker et al, Cell Stem Cell, 2023; Haney et al, bioRxiv, 2022), which have exciting applications in cell/gene therapy and disease modelling.

Dr Wilkinson's funding allows him to offer an exciting project focussing on blood cancer initiation. The project will combine HSC expansion and gene editing technologies with functional and molecular assays to model and understand the consequences of blood cancer-associated genetic mutations on HSCs and leukaemogenesis. This disease model will be further used to screen for molecular vulnerabilities, with the aim of identifying novel therapeutic strategies to treat and prevent blood cancer.

The accepted student will receive:

• Tax free stipend for 3.5 years (£19,237 in the first year)
• Tuition fees with the possibility of international rate fee
• Visa costs
• Travel costs for one return journey to the UK
• £500 research emolument for personal research expenses
• Laboratory costs

The scholarship's funders, Tzo-Tze Ang and Eashwar Krishnan, have a long connection with Trinity College and the accepted student will be enrolled as a member of the College.

Applicants should have a strong interest in haematological malignancies or stem cell research. Applicants should have or shortly expect to obtain a minimum of a good upper second-class Honours degree from a UK university, or a degree of an equivalent standard from an overseas university, in a relevant discipline. A Master's degree is not a requirement. Experience of relevant research is highly desirable. Full details of the University's minimum requirements for postgraduate study are available here: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/application-process/entry-requirements

Applications should be made here:

https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/blscpdscp

• Applicants should select a course start date of October 2025
• Under College Membership, they should select Trinity College
• Under Research, for 'Summary of proposed research project', they should summarise the project described above in their own words and explain their interest in it.
• Under Funding Application, applicants should select that they wish to apply under College funding for the Krishnan-Ang Scholarship in Cancer Research. Applicants requiring support for International rate tuition fees should also select Cambridge Trust funding.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Informal enquiries should be made to Adam Wilkinson at acw63@cam.ac.uk. Queries on the application process can be sent to Jo Jack, Postgraduate Administrator, at phd@stemcells.cam.ac.uk.

Fixed term: 3.5 years

The deadline for applications for the first round is 20th November 2024.

Interviews are expected to be held between 12th and 20th December 2024.

Please quote reference RB43799 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.