Supervisors

Professor Richard Neal - University of Exeter - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

Dr Jessica Bollen - University of Exeter - Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

About the Award

Applications are invited for a Cancer Research UK funded PhD studentship to work with Professor Richard Neal as part of the Exeter Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx) in the University of Exeter’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences based at the St Luke’s Campus in Exeter. The studentship is available to commence on 23 September 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.

This studentship is funded as part of the CRUK CanDetect Programme (‘Accelerating detection of upper gastro-intestinal (UGI) cancers using a multi-cancer early detection platform in primary care’). CanDetect is led by Prof Fiona Walter at QMUL and Prof Steve Pereira at UCL, with Co-Investigators in Exeter (Prof Richard Neal) and Newcastle (Dr Laura Woods).

This 4-year studentship is funded through a Cancer Research UK Programme Grant (CanDetect) and comes with a tax-free stipend of £19,237 and will cover Home tuition fees plus a contribution towards research and training costs.  Students who pay international tuition fees are eligible to apply, but should note that the award will only provide payment for part of the international tuition fee (~£24,000 towards the £27,500 fee in 2024/25) and no stipend and so they will need to have funding for the remainder of their fees and living costs from alternative sources. International applicants need to be aware that you will have to cover the cost of your student visa, healthcare surcharge and other costs of moving to the UK to do a PhD.

CRUK CanDetect PhD studentship - project and supervisor

This PhD studentship will focus on a topic linked to Professor Neal’s programme of research on improving cancer diagnosis in primary care. Please contact Prof Richard Neal (r.neal@exeter.ac.uk) for further information and to discuss your application.

The project - Innovative tests to help in the diagnosis and detection of upper gastro-intestinal tract cancers.

Some innovative tests have been developed to aid the diagnosis and detection of upper gastro-intestinal tract cancers (stomach, oesophagus, pancreas). The PinPoint Test is one such test, and is based upon a ML-based algorithm based upon changes in a number of blood parameters taken around the time of diagnosis in a large retrospective cohort of people who were referred down urgent two-week wait urgent cancer diagnostic pathways (all cancer, not GI specific). The development and validation of the algorithm led to findings that the PinPoint Test could accurately rule out 20% of people, and accurately identify the 50% of people most at risk of cancer. The test has subsequently undergone a service evaluation in Yorkshire and Humberside and subject to clinical approval, is expected to be introduced into clinical practice in the near future in some Cancer Alliances and in some cancer pathways.

It is proposed that this will be a mixed methods PhD that will focus on:
1. Review work to identify any tools that can be applied to ‘at-risk’ patients in primary care to either rule out upper GI cancer, or identify those at greatest risk
2. Empirical work to ascertain one or more of the following goals:
a. The subsequent end-diagnosis for people in who the PinPoint (or other) test is positive, yet do not have cancer
b. The predictive performance of the PinPoint (or other) Test in lower risk populations who do not currently qualify for an urgent suspected cancer referral
c. The value of serial PinPoint (or other) Tests in detection of upper GI cancer
3. The acceptability of the PinPoint (or other) Test to GPs and patient groups

This proposed work represents the use of an existing regulated medical device (for which PinPoint owns the IP) in a slightly different use case, so there isn't a 'new' test that will generate new IP.

The supervisory team will comprise: Prof Richard Neal and Dr Jess Bollen (both APEx), industry collaborator (Dr Rich Savage, Chief Scientific Officer PinPoint Data Science), plus colleagues at QMUL (exact names to be confirmed)

Entry requirements

Entry requirements:

Applicants for this studentship must have obtained, or be about to obtain, a minimum of a First or Upper Second Class UK Honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate subject area such as medicine, nursing, allied health disciplines, biomedical sciences, health science, data science, psychology or social science. Ideally, they should also be able to demonstrate experience of, or interest in, primary care research.

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the required level (Profile B2) as per our guidance at https://www.exeter.ac.uk/study/englishlanguagerequirements/profile-b2/

How to apply

Apply now

How to apply

In the application process you will be asked to upload several documents. 

• CV
• Letter of application (outlining your academic interests, prior research experience and reasons for wishing to undertake the project).
• An outline of the applicant’s thoughts on the brief above and how this may be developed into a formal research proposal (1-2 pages)
• Transcript(s) giving full details of subjects studied and grades/marks obtained (if available, this should be an interim transcript if you are still studying)
• Names of two referees familiar with your academic work. You are not required to obtain references yourself. We will request references directly from your referees if you are shortlisted.
• If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country you will need to submit evidence of your proficiency in English.

The closing date for applications is midnight on 31st July 2024.

If you have any general enquiries about the application process please email pgrapplicants@exeter.ac.uk or phone 0300 555 60 60 (UK callers) +44 (0) 1392 723044 (EU/International callers)  Queries about the project or studentship should be directed to Prof Richard Neal (r.neal@exeter.ac.uk)

Summary