PhD position in Computational Biology for Hereditary & Early Onset Breast Cancer

HER-CARE is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions-Doctoral network that brings together 9 leading academic and 13 industrial partners to train a new generation of multidisciplinary researchers with the unified goal of advancing early onset and hereditary breast cancer research. In total, the HER-CARE network will include 15 doctoral candidates across all participating institutes. In addition to conducting your primary research, you will broaden your experience through one international academic and one non-academic secondment within the HER-CARE network.

The network has three overarching aims:

1. to characterize spectrum of risk factors for early onset and hereditary breast cancer and its subtypes

2. to develop innovative approaches for risk stratification, early detection and screening of invasive breast cancer, and

3. to identify multi-modal markers of tumours and tumour environment to improve prediction of clinical outcomes and aid clinical decisions.

The Marjanka Schmidt Group is seeking a PhD candidate for the Genomic signatures of early onset tumours project:

The distinct presentation and epidemiology of early-onset vs. late-onset breast cancer suggest biological differences between these tumours. However, the genomic determinants of these differences have not been well characterized. The doctoral candidate will characterize the unique germline and tumour genetic profiles of early-onset breast cancer to uncover their biological origins, improve detection, and identify potential treatment targets tailored to distinct genomic and immunologic profiles. Specifically, the doctoral candidate will use advanced statistical methods and programming tools (e.g., R, Python) to integrate large-scale, genomic, histological, and immunological data to identify the genomic contribution to early-onset breast cancer and its subtypes. This project will leverage a unique, well‑annotated resource of nearly 10,000 breast cancer patients with matched genomic (DNA sequencing, SNP array) and standardized phenotypic/clinical annotations. The candidate will complete secondments of 6 months at Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (Spain) and 3 months at Methylomics (Netherlands).

• Conduct innovative, interdisciplinary research to reveal novel insights about the aetiology, progression, and clinical management of early onset and hereditary breast cancer

• Join the unique HER-CARE network that unites data-driven research with clinical translation to improve outcomes for women with hereditary and early-onset breast cancer

• Actively collaborate with researchers within the Schmidt group at NKI, including two other HER-CARE PhD candidates, and with related NKI groups such as the Menezes (Statistical models in cancer) and Wessels (Computational Cancer Biology) groups, as well as within the HER-CARE doctoral network

• Complete two secondments, with both (inter)national academic collaborators and non-academic partners

• Participate in five network-wide training events and consortium meetings

• Present your (intermediate) research results at institutional meetings, international conferences and workshops

• Publish your results in peer-reviewed journals

• Complete and defend a PhD thesis within the official appointment of four years