Prostate Cancer Precision Medicine PhD Scholarship

The Prostate Cancer Precision Medicine Scholarship is an exciting new research opportunity for a PhD student within the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute at Flinders University https://www.flinders.edu.au/health-medical-research-institute. Outstanding and highly motivated candidates with a passion to improve outcomes for prostate cancer patients are invited to apply.

Project Details

There are many different drugs that can be used to treat men with metastatic prostate cancer. Additionally, men with prostate cancer are also frequently receiving treatments for other health issues, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease. To improve clinical care, we need personalised tools to: i) identify the right cancer treatment for a specific patient; and ii) determine whether other drugs being taken by patients will influence the efficacy of the cancer treatment

Our group presently has access to individual-patient data (demographic, clinical, laboratory and tumour data) from thousands of patients with advanced prostate cancer. The broad aim of the project is to use sophisticated data analytic methods (e.g. machine learning) to interrogate this unique dataset and, from there, develop tools and guidelines that enable more precise and effective patient treatment.

This project represents an exciting and emerging field of research that uses “big data” to improve health outcomes.

Supervisory Team

The successful candidate will be supervised by an outstanding multidisciplinary team comprising experts in clinical epidemiology, biostatistics and data analytics (Dr Ashley Hopkins, Professor Michael Sorich), prostate cancer biology (Associate Professor Luke Selth) and prostate cancer medical oncology and pharmacology (Dr Ganessan Kichenadasse).

More information about the supervisors can be found here:

Dr Ashley Hopkins

Associate Professor Luke Selth

Professor Michael Sorich

Dr Ganessan Kichenadasse

Benefits

The scholarship includes:

a stipend funded by the Hopkins and Selth labs valued at $30,000 per annum (tax-free).
an award period of 3 years, with possibility of 0.5 year extension.
a Research Training Program Fee Offset Scholarship to cover tuition fees for Australian Citizens, NZ Citizens and Permanent Residents.

Other benefits include:

being based at the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, which brings together world-leading, innovative and inspiring researchers who aim to improve health, prevent disease and combat health inequalities.
a University that is committed to growing research activity, quality and impact.
a city that is regularly ranked as Australia’s most liveable.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the award of this scholarship a student must:

be an Australian citizen; or New Zealand citizen; or have been granted permanent resident status; and
meet PhD admission requirements including: have an Australian Honours degree Class 1 or 2A or equivalent qualification (at least AQF Level 8), including a research component of at least 6 months’ full-time study achieving Distinction (75%) OR including evidence of equivalent research experience, such as a substantial first-author refereed publication or track record as an investigator on a competitive grant; and
be available to commence as a full-time PhD student at Flinders University in semester 2, 2022. Part-time enrolment will be considered for candidates with medical training.

Candidates must have a strong interest in improving cancer care and excellent communication skills. It is desirable for candidates to have experience in clinical epidemiology, biostatistics, pharmacometrics or proficiency with the R programming language; however, these skills are not essential as they can be taught by the supervisory Prostate Cancer Precision Medicine Scholarship Conditions of Award.

Conditions of Award

Application Information

ADMISSION TO HDR

Those who apply for the scholarship opportunity that have not already applied for admission to a relevant HDR must also apply. Instructions on how to apply for admission can be found here: https://www.flinders.edu.au/study/apply/apply-research-degree/how-to-apply.

By lodging this separate application, applicants acknowledge:

The ‘Supervisor confirmation’ must refer to the application for this scholarship
The application for PhD admission will only be assessed where the applicant is successful in being awarded the scholarship

All other applications for PhD admission lodged in line with this scholarship opportunity will not be assessed and will be withdrawn.

APPLICATION

The applications for HDR admission and the scholarship will be separate processes; applications for admission to candidature are submitted electronically (link above)

Prior to submitting applications, prospective applicants are advised to contact Dr Hopkins or A/Prof Selth via email at ashley.hopkins@flinders.edu.au and luke.selth@flinders.edu.au, to discuss your interest and eligibility in the opportunity. After this contact you may be invited to apply.

You may need to provide a copy of your CV together with a covering letter outlining your relevant qualifications, experience, research experience and reasons for applying for the scholarship or any other supporting documents deemed necessary.

Once applications have been considered by the project team, the successful awardee will be notified.

The successful candidate will ideally begin by July 2022, subject to negotiation, and not later than January 2023.

Submit an application