Role of macrophage heparan sulfate proteoglycans in multiple myeloma (TROEBERGL_U25BIGC)

Primary supervisor – Dr Linda Troeberg

This 4-year PhD project, funded by Big C Cancer Charity and UEA Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, represents an exciting opportunity to develop and conduct cutting-edge research on cancer immunology.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of plasma cells, the cell type that makes antibodies. MM remains incurable, with under a third of UK patients surviving their disease for more than 10 years. There is thus an unmet clinical need for new therapies that can stop MM progressing or eradicate residual disease. This project will investigate how MM cells communicate with tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs), which maintain an immunosuppressive environment that supports MM proliferation, survival, and drug resistance. Understanding how TAMs receive and interpret signals from tumour cells could help us develop better treatments for MM and other cancers.

Our work so far has shown that macrophages regulate their expression of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) in response to cues that MM cells produce. We think this enables the macrophages to support tumour progression by altering how they respond to environmental cues such as cytokines and growth factors. To test this hypothesis, the PhD student will investigate how knockdown of candidate HSPG genes impacts the phenotype of macrophages in vitro, and validate their findings using clinical MM samples. To do this, they will receive training in immunology-focused cell and molecular biology techniques, including qPCR, immunoblotting, ELISA, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemistry.

The project will be carried out under the supervision of Dr Linda Troeberg and Prof Stuart Rushworth at Norwich Medical School. We have successfully supervised 15 PhD students, who have gone on to positions in post-doctoral research and industry. Our groups are supportive and collaborative, with weekly lab meetings and a biweekly journal club. We encourage presentation at local, national and international scientific meetings. Training will provide the opportunity to develop advanced research skills as well as broader transferable skills such as project management and scientific communication.

Entry requirements

The minimum entry requirement is 2:1 in Biological Sciences or equivalent.

Start date

1 October 2025

Mode of study

Full-time