Innovative multi-omics approaches to improve detection, diagnosis and prognosis of medical conditions and complications arising from metabolic syndrome
Exciting PhD opportunity for an ambitious student to join a dynamic, enthusiastic research team at Queen’s University Belfast working together with scientists at Multiomic Health to drive forward research into medical conditions and complications arising from metabolic syndrome. This studentship attracts a £2,000 annual supplement to the standard PhD stipend.
About the Project
Metabolic syndrome describes a cluster of health conditions which occur together and increase an individual’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Age-related diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, increase in prevalence as populations get older and costs the NHS over £6 billion annually. There is an urgent need to identify biomarkers that predict health and disease across the lifecourse, with a focus on enabling identification of those most at risk of disease development. Considering inherited features alongside the impact of where each person is born, lives, and works may improve our understanding of disease development. We know that people who are poorer, less educated, and who experience more adverse life circumstances experience accelerated biological ageing that is associated with an earlier onset of age-related diseases such as diabetes.
Using an existing large-scale dataset, the student will identify multiomic signatures associated with metabolic syndrome common in older populations. This project will merge demographic, clinical and biological datasets (QUB) with MultiOmic Health’s expertise in applying novel AI techniques, to address a significant unmet need and public health priority. The student will work with experts at QUB and MultiOmic Health, creating and applying systems biology approaches and AI predictive analytics on multiomic datasets.