The following projects have been selected for the AstraZeneca Funded Non-Clinical PhD Studentships starting 2026. If you are a prospective student please look at the adverts provided below.
| UCAM-Supervisor |
UCAM Department |
AZ-Supervisor | Project Title |
|
Dr Ana Vujic |
Medicine | Karin Jennbacken | Targeting Cardiometabolic Dysfunction in Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF): Mechanisms of Exercise-Induced Protection |
| Dr Catherine Wilson | Pharmacology | James Hunt | Delivering a biological proximity-inducing degrader of c-Myc – a comparative analysis of viral, RNA and protein therapeutics. |
| Prof. David Spring | Chemistry | Nick Darton | Improving the Stability of ADCs and their Formulations by Mitigating Degradation Pathways |
| Dr Florian Merkle | Pharmacology | Bilada Bilican | Robust hypothalamic cellular models of neurometabolic disease |
| Prof. Graham Ladds | Pharmacology | Alberto Ippolito | Experimental and computational framework for the analysis and design of dosing schedules to mitigate T-cell exhaustion during T-cell engager therapies |
| Prof. Ljiljana Fruk | Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology | Jessica Qing Yu | Exploiting Multivalency to Design Telodendrimer Micelles for Tissue-specific Accumulation |
| Prof. Paul Midgley | Materials Science and Metallurgy | Okky Putra | Application of Electron Crystallography in the Study of Solid-State Transitions of Chiral Drugs |
| Prof. Robert Phipps | Chemistry | Anthony Metrano | Developing New Methods for Enantioselective Synthesis of Heterocyclic Atropiosmeric Compounds of Medicinal Relevance |
| Prof. S. Jackson | CRUK Cambridge Institute | Mark O'Connor | Deciphering cellular determinants of sensitivity to high-LET radiation to inform combination strategies with next-generation Targeted Alpha Therapies. |
| Dr Susanne Bornelov | Biochemistry | Lukas Westlake | Matchmaker: Prioritising the best cell line for expressing target proteins using CRISPR and machine learning |
| Dr Tim Halim | CRUK Cambridge Institute | Gregory Hamm | Defining and targeting immune-regulatory metabolic niches during benign-to-malignant transformation of pancreatic cancer. |
AstraZeneca-University of Cambridge (2026) Project Advertisements
1. Project Title: Deciphering cellular determinants of sensitivity to high-LET radiation to inform combination strategies with next-generation Targeted Alpha Therapies
Project supervisors: Professor Sir Steve Jackson (UCAM) and Dr Mark O'Connor (AZ Partner)
Closing Date: 17th October 2025
Project details: Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT) selectively delivers high Linear Energy Transfer (LET) alpha-particles to cancer cells, maximising efficacy while minimising toxicity. Knowledge about radiation sensitivity, accrued mainly with sparsely ionising low-LET radiation (e.g. X-ray, ¿-ray), demonstrated that genetic backgrounds influence radiation therapy (RT) responses, with DNA-damage response (DDR) pathways critically involved. However, determinants of sensitivity to high-LET radiation, such as alpha particles emitted by TAT, remain largely unexplored.
This project will explore the effects of radioligand therapies on cell viability and DDR activation in established human cell models. The student will perform CRISPR screens to determine factors that affect resistance/sensitivity and follow these up with mechanistic studies of a shortlist of identified targets. These studies may uncover mechanisms of cellular responses, potential biomarkers and additional therapeutic vulnerabilities that underlie the responses of normal and tumour cells to alpha radiotherapy.
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2. Project Title: Targeting Cardiometabolic Dysfunction in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF): Mechanisms of Exercise-Induced Protection
Project supervisors: Dr Ana Vujic (UCAM) and Dr Karin Jennbacken (AZ Partner)
Closing Date: 2nd October 2025
Project details: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a common, under-recognised condition strongly linked to obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia, and hypertension. Exercise is one of the few interventions consistently shown to improve outcomes, yet its protective mechanisms remain poorly understood.
This project will combine molecular, cellular, and physiological approaches to explore how exercise reprograms metabolic and inflammatory pathways that connect cardiac function to systemic health. Insights gained will inform the development of novel therapeutic strategies for HFpEF and broader cardiometabolic disease.
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3. Project Title: AstraZeneca-Funded Non-Clinical PhD Studentship "Defining and targeting immune-regulatory metabolic niches during benign-to-malignant transformation of pancreatic cancer"
Project supervisors: Dr Tim Halim (UCAM) and Dr Gregory Hamm (AZ Partner)
Closing Date: 17th October 2025
Project details: The tumour immunity cycle involves cyclical trafficking of T cell subsets between the tumour and lymphoid organs. While current immunotherapy has focused on re-energizing exhausted T cells, it is becoming apparent that many checkpoint drugs act on specific subsets of 'stem like' T cells, which are present in the lymph nodes, or other sites such as the tumour itself.
The proposed project will extend on this collaboration, utilizing cutting-edge mouse models and immunology expertise (CRUK-CI), access to relevant patient material (matched fresh-frozen PDAC and serum samples). We will utilize AstraZeneca expertise in spatial and circulatory metabolomics, as well as imaging mass cytometry, and test the effect of AZ clinical compounds on the immune-metabolic landscape of our PanIN-to-PDAC models. Dr Koulman will provide training and support with metabolomic and lipidomic analysis.
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