Replication stress-induced genome instability and inflammation are central pathogenic mechanisms in cancer predisposition, premature ageing and neurodegeneration. Research in UKRI Future Leader Fellow Dr Chris Staples’ group is focused on how cancer cells protect their DNA during replicative stress, and how these processes can be turned against the tumour to improve treatment.
Our work bridges the interface of DNA repair, replication stress and innate immunity, combining molecular and cell biology with functional genomics (including CRISPR dropout screening, DNA fibre analysis, quantitative imaging and proteomics) to facilitate the identification and validation of precision drug targets. The lab is supported by funding from UKRI, MRC, North West Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Now and Cancer Research Wales and collaborates nationally and internationally.
Prospective postgraduate researchers would join a supportive, ambitious team within a growing cancer-biology community in North Wales, gaining hands-on training in cutting-edge techniques and contributing to publications in leading journals. Dr Staples welcomes enquiries from motivated individuals interested in pursuing a PhD or MSc by Research.
Examples of potential PhD projects include:
- Exploiting novel synthetic lethal interactions in DNA repair-deficient tumour cell lines.
- Exploring the interface between innate immunity and replication stress in cancer.
- Developing new methods to identify lesions in nascent DNA at the single-molecule level.
Detection of post-replicative single-stranded DNA via S1 nuclease-linked DNA fibre assay