Bioinformatics.org
| BACKGROUNDThis is a 3-year PhD position, that is part of a European Doctoral Network (DN) program entitled “Prostate cancer omics mediated intervention (PROMOTE)” involving 13 research centres from Germany, Greece, Austria, Portugal, and Spain. The PhD position is hosted at Delta 4 GmbH, Vienna, Austria. The PROMOTE Consortium / Background: PROMOTE focuses on the multidisciplinary education of doctoral candidates (DCs) in -omics and artificial intelligence (AI) mediated intervention to improve the clinical management of Prostate Cancer (PCa). PCa is the second most common malignancy, affecting ~1.3 million men every year worldwide. Tragically, there is a treatment paradox, as ~45% of PCa patients experience slow-growing cancer and are unlikely to progress rapidly, while PCa is not curable at an advanced stage. Evidently, clinical management of PCa is not optimal, as patients who do not require treatment are over-treated, while for those where immediate actions are required, efficient treatment is still needed. To fill the above gaps, PROMOTE was formed to educate DCs in emerging -omics and AI technologies and deliver: 1. Novel non-invasive tools (based on biomarker- and AI- models) to guide intervention, and 2. More efficient treatment options for advanced PCa (particularly metastatic) driven by molecular characterization of the disease phenotypes. PROMOTE brings together 13 leading centres from different disciplines, including 3 SMEs, 4 university hospitals with clinical laboratories, and 2 research institutes, and 4 universities, closely collaborating with a solid scientific background, as demonstrated by multiple publications. PROMOTE research builds on: 1. Available biobanks and -omics datasets within the PROMOTE consortium, including >3000 urinary proteomics, >1100 imaging datasets paired with biopsy and pathology data, >350 paired RNA and proteomics urinary profiles, >100 tissue proteomics and ~300 phospho-, proteo-genomic and transcriptomics profiles from public repositories 2. Established software and analytical protocols on -omics data integration, AI feature extraction and integration, systems biology, pathway enrichment, drug repurposing and in vitro testing, and 3. Infrastructure to support hosting and training of DCs. The PROMOTE partner hosting the PhD student: Delta 4 GmbH is a Vienna-based TechBio company at the forefront of digital drug discovery and development. Delta4 leverages a proprietary computational analytics platform (Hyper-C), combined with biomedical testing and clinical validation of candidate drugs. Our unique approach integrates iterative big data/in silico and experimental screens, offering the most efficient matching of clinical indications and compound/drug effects. Our R&D process allows a fast track to clinical stage testing; our methodological core is tailored toward precision to increase the probability of success. Our focus is the repositioning of existing drugs for novel indications. With generating IP for such drug-disease combinations we establish a pipeline of clinically and economically attractive indications. Results of our lead program on the rare chronic kidney disease focal segmental glomerulosclerosis have been published recently (Transl Res. 2023 259:28-34 ; Kidney Int Rep. 2023 9(2):478-481). Previous computational data integration workflows have led to the identification of novel drug combinations in other tumor entities (Oncotarget. 2018 9(91):36379-36391; PLoS One. 2019 14(1):e0210859). |