Exploring the prognostic potential of drug induced morphological changes in cancer

Standard cancer drug screening predominantly relies on simple viability assays to measure therapeutic efficacy. While high-throughput, these methods often fail to capture subtle morphological changes or distinguish between cell populations in mixed cultures, a critical limitation when exploring in vitro drug sensitivity. The student will utilise a range of established cancer cell lines which could include lung cancer, melanoma, bladder cancer, glioblastoma which will be treated with drugs used in the clinic. Multiplexed immunofluorescence, possibly including time-lapse microscopy, will be used to capture comprehensive phenotypic data, ranging from nuclear features to cytoskeletal organisation, and temporal changes. The student will be based in the Sheffield Ex vivo Group and will be responsible for maintaining mammalian cell cultures and performing drug treatment assays. They will gain proficiency in immunofluorescence protocols and automated microscopy. The student will learn to use established image analysis software to quantify specific cellular features. The project seeks to determine if these morphometric analyses can serve as reliable indicators of drug sensitivity, moving beyond standard metrics to a deeper understanding of treatment response. Students will need to find their own accommodation and be expected to present their findings orally at a research day in York on 08th September 2026.