The VIGILANCE study: developing imaging and circulating biomarkers towards personalised radiotherapy in locally advanced lung cancer
Closing date: 04/04/2025
CRUK Black Leaders in Cancer Non-Clinical PhD Scholarship: The VIGILANCE study: developing imaging and circulating biomarkers towards personalised radiotherapy in locally advanced lung cancer
Lead Supervisors: Prof. Corinne Faivre-Finn
Co-Supervisors: Dr Gareth Price, Dr Florent Mouliere
Applications Deadline: Friday 4th April 2025
Interviews: Week commencing 28th April 2025
Non-Clinical Studentship start date: September 2025
Project Keywords: Lung cancer, Radiotherapy, Biomarkers
Research Opportunity: Non-Clinical Studentship leading to the award of PhD
Project Outline
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type. One-fifth of patients present with stage 3 or locally advanced (LA) disease, equating to approximately 9,000 patients annually in England. Over half of these patients receive radiotherapy-based treatments. In fit patients, concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by immunotherapy offers the best chance of cure. Unfortunately, such treatments are associated with significant toxicity and the prognosis remains poor due to high risk of recurrence.
There remains an unmet clinical need for biomarkers that can predict toxicity and identify treatment failure early. Such information would be clinically useful for tailoring personalised treatment and follow-up regimens to individuals and their specific cancer. The ultimate aim is to design a patient-led clinical trial that integrates new biomarkers to improve treatment decision-making and individualises lung cancer treatment.
High-quality prospective clinical data has already been collected from patients with LA-NSCLC undergoing curative-intent radiotherapy within the MCRC’s VIGILANCE study. Study data includes innovative cell-free DNA (cfDNA) biomarkers together with radiomic biomarkers from routine imaging captured at multiple timepoints throughout treatment and follow-up. Patient-reported symptoms and quality of life measures through patient-reported outcome measures have also been collected. This will provide insight into the patient experience during and after radiotherapy and permit the evaluation of the potential of these measures as a patient-centred qualitative biomarker. Except for cfDNA, all candidate biomarkers are routinely collected, making this study highly pragmatic.
Overall, this project builds on previous work, but will introduce new and impactful insights that significantly advance the research. The candidate will benefit from the unique infrastructure and strengths that have been established locally, bringing together experts in clinical and translational research. The team includes members of the Christie, CRUK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, National Cancer Biomarker Centre and the MCRC.
Applications for this project are now open. Please complete your application on the Windsor Fellowship website.
About Professor Corinne Faivre-Finn (project Lead Supervisor)
Corinne Faivre-Finn is a Professor of Thoracic Radiation Oncology at University of Manchester and Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Christie. She is an experienced PhD supervisor.
She is Principal Investigator for numerous trials studying radiotherapy in lung cancer and an author of 24 lung cancer national and international guidelines. She has authored>300 papers including 7practice changing studies.
She has numerous professional roles including radiotherapy research lead for Manchester Cancer Research Centre & CRUK Lung Cancer Centre, Chair of the ESTRO Lung Focus Group & the Early NSCLC EORTC Lung Group. She also leads the Christie Patient Reported Outcome Group.
Key information
Before submitting an application, please ensure you have read the information below about the funding arrangements and eligibility for Non-Clinical Studentships.
We also encourage you to get in contact with the lead supervisor to discuss the project and any particulars.
Further information is available on the Non-Clinical PhD Studentships webpage.
The clinical fellowships are usually tenable for three years, although in certain circumstances they may be four years duration.
The Fellowship covers:
- running expenses,
- an appropriate salary in line with the applicant’s current salary and grade
- full coverage of University PhD fees at the UK/home fee rate.
International Candidates
The University of Manchester aims to support the most outstanding applicants from outside the UK.
We are able to offer a limited number of bursaries to high-performing EU and international candidates, covering PhD fees only. Bursaries do not include financial support for visa/health surcharges.
We assess each EU and international candidate’s suitability for a bursary at the application and interview stages.
This programme is aimed at students from Black heritage backgrounds pursuing a PhD in cancer-related fields. This scheme is open to people who self-identify as being from a Black heritage background, including a mixed background, for example: Black African, Black Caribbean, Black Other, Mixed background (to include Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black backgrounds).
The funding for this studentship covers students with UK Home tuition fee status only. However, the CRUK Manchester Centre are able to offer a number of overseas fee scholarships to candidates deemed appointable at interview. These scholarships cover fees only and do not cover health/visa surcharge costs.
The standard CRUK Manchester Centre PhD programme and studentship academic eligibility criteria are:
- A first or upper second-class honours degree (or equivalent from a non-UK university) in a relevant subject.
- Appropriate research experience as part of, or outside of, an undergraduate or masters degree course in a relevant subject.
- Appropriate English language skills.
Applications for this programme are now open. Please follow the steps below to complete your application:
Step 1: Contact the MCRC Training team to discuss your suitability for your chosen project.
Step 2: Visit the Windsor Fellowship website for further details and to log your application with them.
Step 3: Please then submit a full application for a BLiC PhD on The University of Manchester application portal.
Key dates
- Applications open: Monday 3rd March 2025
- Application deadline: Friday 4th April 2025
- Interviews: Week commencing 28th April 2025
- Start date: September 2025
Useful Links
Submit your application
Interested in applying for this opportunity? Go to the Windsor Fellowship website to submit your application.
Clinical Research Training Fellowships
Discover our various opportunities for clinicians looking to undertake a period of PhD training in a cancer-relevant field.
Get in Touch
Contact Dr Yasmin Noori Jenaghard, Postgraduate Programme Manager.
Researcher Stories
Read first-hand experiences of from cancer scientists from across Manchester.
Why Manchester?
Find out why postgraduate students choose to study in Manchester.
A Day in the Life of a Clinical PhD Student
Watch our short video to see what it's like to be a Clinical Research Training Fellow in Manchester.