Accelerated Screening and Synthesis of New Chemotherapeutic Agents for Pancreatic Cancer PhD 36 months PHD Programme By Loughborough University |TopUniversities

Programme overview

Main Subject

Chemistry

Degree

PhD

Study Level

PHD

Study Mode

On Campus

Due to its asymptomatic nature, pancreatic cancer is highly resistant to current known chemotherapeutic agents at the point of diagnosis. This has led to a five-year survival rate of just 7% of patients in England (five-year survival trend for pancreatic cancer between 2000-2004 and 2010-2014). Combination therapies have become the first line therapies of choice (gemcitabine and erlotinib has been reported to show improved 1-year survival rates than the administration of gemcitabine alone). Even these provide only modest survival benefits (23% as opposed to 17%). It is therefore imperative that new therapeutic strategies are developed. 
Cancer is a complex disease but one of the significant challenges in the development of new therapies in this area is that pancreatic cells are hypovascular (deficient in blood vessels) in nature and cells can proliferate in nutrient deprived conditions. This feature is known as anti-austerity. So how can we exploit this?
With this PhD project, we will look to gain a deeper understanding of the anti-austere nature of pancreatic cancer cells from a biological point of view to better inform the development of new and effective chemotherapeutic agents using synthetic, biological, and medicinal chemistry knowledge. The biological part of the project will be carried out using natural compounds such as (+)-Grandifloracin and its analogues. (+)-Grandifloracin, in particular has been reported to be more active against several pancreatic cancer cell lines than the clinically used pancreatic anti-cancer drug gemcitabine which have shown positive results in reducing the persistence of pancreatic cells.
Using cutting edge catalysts developed at Loughborough, this will enable, for the first time, a systematic biological activity study on the core structure of (+)-Grandifloracin. In the laboratory (+)-Grandifloracin has been found to be very difficult to prepare in pure form and current routes only enable diversification of the outside structure, not the core. Importantly the core structure has been identified as being responsible for its significant biological activity.
We have been able to successfully synthesise analogues (+)-Grandifloracin for which we have seen initial positive results. We will use the initial results to determine the relationship between the pharmacophore and the reduction in persistence of the cancer cells. Modification of this core would offer significant biological information in the drive to develop more aggressive and successful treatments for pancreatic cancer.

Programme overview

Main Subject

Chemistry

Degree

PhD

Study Level

PHD

Study Mode

On Campus

Due to its asymptomatic nature, pancreatic cancer is highly resistant to current known chemotherapeutic agents at the point of diagnosis. This has led to a five-year survival rate of just 7% of patients in England (five-year survival trend for pancreatic cancer between 2000-2004 and 2010-2014). Combination therapies have become the first line therapies of choice (gemcitabine and erlotinib has been reported to show improved 1-year survival rates than the administration of gemcitabine alone). Even these provide only modest survival benefits (23% as opposed to 17%). It is therefore imperative that new therapeutic strategies are developed. 
Cancer is a complex disease but one of the significant challenges in the development of new therapies in this area is that pancreatic cells are hypovascular (deficient in blood vessels) in nature and cells can proliferate in nutrient deprived conditions. This feature is known as anti-austerity. So how can we exploit this?
With this PhD project, we will look to gain a deeper understanding of the anti-austere nature of pancreatic cancer cells from a biological point of view to better inform the development of new and effective chemotherapeutic agents using synthetic, biological, and medicinal chemistry knowledge. The biological part of the project will be carried out using natural compounds such as (+)-Grandifloracin and its analogues. (+)-Grandifloracin, in particular has been reported to be more active against several pancreatic cancer cell lines than the clinically used pancreatic anti-cancer drug gemcitabine which have shown positive results in reducing the persistence of pancreatic cells.
Using cutting edge catalysts developed at Loughborough, this will enable, for the first time, a systematic biological activity study on the core structure of (+)-Grandifloracin. In the laboratory (+)-Grandifloracin has been found to be very difficult to prepare in pure form and current routes only enable diversification of the outside structure, not the core. Importantly the core structure has been identified as being responsible for its significant biological activity.
We have been able to successfully synthesise analogues (+)-Grandifloracin for which we have seen initial positive results. We will use the initial results to determine the relationship between the pharmacophore and the reduction in persistence of the cancer cells. Modification of this core would offer significant biological information in the drive to develop more aggressive and successful treatments for pancreatic cancer.

Admission Requirements

3.2+
6.5+
92+

01 Apr 2025
3 Years
Jan
Apr

Tuition fees

Domestic
4,786
International
27,500

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