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Open to UK and Overseas applicants.

Supervisors

• Richard Allen (Population Health Sciences) richard.allen@leicester.ac.uk
• Catherine John (Population Health Sciences) cj153@leicester.ac.uk
• Katy Roach (Respiratory Sciences) kmr11@leicester.ac.uk

PhD Population Health Sciences

Genetics of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis subtypes

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating disease where the lungs become progressively scarred. There are limited treatment options and half of individuals die within 3 years of a diagnosis of IPF. IPF is also an extremely heterogeneous disease with disease progression and outcomes varying greatly between individuals. Using statistical genetics approaches we have identified multiple genetic loci as associated with development of IPF. However, little is known about subtypes of IPF and understanding the biological mechanisms that drive disease subtypes is vital in developing novel desperately needed targeted treatments. For this project, the student will use large-scale statistical genetics approaches on a high-performance computing cluster to test for associations with measures of IPF presentation. This will include investigating genetic associations with clinical features (such as image derived phenotypes from CT scans), physical tests (such as blood oxygen levels) and symptoms (such as cough or breathlessness). Approaches to investigate these will include genome-wide association studies for discovery analyses, colocalisation and polygenic risk score approaches to understand shared genetics and bioinformatic functional follow-up to identify important biological mechanisms. This project will suit an applicant with an analytical background in statistics, epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, bioinformatics or computer science. The student will be situated within an internationally leading Division of Genetic Epidemiology with expertise in leading genetics research and a background in pulmonary fibrosis research. The student will also work closely with collaborators within the Division of Respiratory Sciences to guide follow-up analyses of findings using human cell and tissue models.