New prognostic and predictive factors in solid tumors

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Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the western countries. Early diagnosis and targeted therapy improve the therapeutic outcome. With the emergence of new biotechnologies, diagnosis can be made early and precisely, and the knowledge of tumor molecular genetics can identify the most appropriate therapy for a particular patient. The sensitivity of modern molecular methods makes it possible to characterize the tumor properties from sites remote from the primary tumor using patient's blood. The subject of the offered study program is the identification of new prognostic and predictive biomarkers of cancer using liquid biopsies. This is particularly the analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating free tumor DNA (ctDNA) and circulating miRNAs. The aim of the project is to further implement a liquid biopsy concept into the diagnosis and therapy monitoring of solid tumors, especially colorectal, breast, lung and CNS tumors. These include therapy response and resistance monitoring, identifying new therapeutic targets and estimating disease prognosis. The project will provide training in widely-used, transferable techniques, including circulation tumor cells capture system, digital droplet PCR, reverse-transcription qPCR, RNA-seq, single cell analyses, xenografts models and other multi-omics methods. We are looking for candidates with a background in Molecular Biology, Medicine, Cell Biology or a related area, who are enthusiastic about investigating novel approaches in cancer diagnostic that have significant potential for public health.