Understanding and treating viral cancers: Structural analysis and drug targeting of Epstein-Barr Virus replication factor EBNA1
Supervisor :
27th January 2027
Queen Mary University of London has partnered with the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to offer a joint scholarship programme to enable Chinese students to study for a PhD programme at Queen Mary. Under the scheme, Queen Mary will provide scholarships to cover all tuition fees, whilst the CSC will provide living expenses and one return flight ticket to successful applicants.
Applicants must:
- Be applying for CSC funding.
- Be a citizen and permanent resident of the People’s Republic of China and hold a Chinese passport.
- Satisfy all eligibility criteria set out by the CSC and must refer to the CSC website for full details.
- Apply to QMUL by 27th January 2027. Late applications will not be considered.
- Submit ALL required documentation, including evidence of their English Language ability ahead of the CSC application deadline.
CSC application rules differ slightly for domestic applicants (students applying from China) and overseas applicants (students applying from overseas). Therefore, ALL applicants are advised to see the CSC website for full details on eligibility and conditions on the scholarship.
Project Overview
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes numerous lymphomas and carcinomas and the benign neuroinflammatory disease multiple sclerosis (MS). The EBV replication factor EBNA1 is expressed in all infected cells and tumours and is required for the virus to replicate its genome and for infected cells to survive, so plays a critical role in disease development and is an excellent target for the development of new therapies. We have been investigating how EBNA1 functions as a replication factor using structural biology techniques to examine the structure and function of key domains using X-ray crystallography. This project will extend this analysis to examine the structure of full length EBNA1 bound to DNA using Cryogenic Electron Microscopy to examine how different domains of EBNA1 interact with each other and DNA to drive viral replication. This project will also continue our work developing and testing small molecule inhibitors of EBNA1 in vitro and in cells towards developing a pre-clinical candidate drug for testing in patients suffering from MS and/or EBV cancers. In MS, EBV-targeting drugs would destroy the EBV-infected cells that drive the production of the anti-EBNA1 antibodies that cross-react with and damage components of the central nervous system. In EBV cancers, EBV-targeting drugs would destroy only EBV cancer cells leaving normal cells undamaged, an advantage over the toxic chemotherapy drugs used currently that have debilitating short and long-term side effects. They could also provide new treatments for drug resistant EBV cancers, where currently very few options are available.
Research Environment
The student will be enrolled on the QMUL doctoral programme which embeds 210 hrs of training and development across the course of the PhD, informed using a development needs analysis tool co-created by each student and supervisor. The student will receive hands on specific technical training in a broad range of biochemical, biophysical, cell biology and structural biology techniques, including in troubleshooting. The student will have opportunities for broad scientific learning and the development of excellent presentation and scientific critique skills and will be supported to attend and present at at least one conference per year. My group has an open, friendly and inclusive culture that welcomes ideas and input from all and is supportive and team orientated.
School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences
Entry Requirements
We are looking for candidates to have or expecting to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree and a Master’s degree in an area relevant to the project such as Biomedical Sciences, Biochemistry, Biology, Molecular Biology, Clinical sciences, Chemistry
Knowledge of protein expression and purification, molecular biology and/or cell culture would be highly advantageous but are not required.
You must meet the IELTS requirements for your course and upload evidence before CSC’s application deadline, ideally by 17th March 2027. You are therefore strongly advised to sit an approved English Language test as soon as possible, where your IELTS test must still be valid when you enrol for the programme.
Find out more about our entry requirements here.
How to Apply
Formal applications must be submitted through our online form by 27th January 2027 for consideration. Please identify yourself as a ‘CSC Scholar’ in the funding section of the application.
Applicants are required to submit the following documents:
- Your CV
- Personal Statement
- Evidence of English Language e.g.) IELTS Certificate
- Copies of academic transcripts and degree certificates
- References
Find out more about our application process on our SBBS website.
Informal enquiries about the project can be sent to Prof Michelle West at michelle.west@qmul.ac.uk
Admissions-related queries can be sent to sbbs-phd-admissions@qmul.ac.uk
Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a formal interview by the supervisor. If you are successful in your QMUL application, then you will be issued an QMUL Offer Letter, conditional on securing a CSC scholarship along with academic conditions still required to meet our entry requirements.
Once applicants have obtained their QMUL Offer Letter, they should then apply to CSC for the scholarship with the support of the supervisor.
For further information, please go to the QMUL China Scholarship Council webpage.
See Also