Liquid Biopsy for monitoring of minimal residual disease in childhood acute leukaemia

The strongest prognostic factor for relapse and poor prognosis in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the persistence of minimal residual disease (MRD) in the bone marrow throughout therapy. The current gold standard for detecting MRD and early relapse in high-risk childhood leukaemia is patient-specific tests performed on bone marrow samples collected from the patient. We aim to develop less invasive, but equally sensitive, methods to detect MRD in the peripheral blood called “liquid biopsy”.

Liquid biopsy is the detection of DNA fragments released into the blood and bone marrow by cancer cells (circulating tumour DNA). However, there is limited information about liquid biopsy in childhood leukaemia. Therefore, this project aims to investigate if liquid biopsy can be used for the sensitive detection of residual leukaemia and whether it can be used for ALL risk stratification analogous to conventional MRD assays.

How to Apply

Express your interest in this project by emailing Professor Richard Lock. Include a copy of your CV and your academic transcript(s).