Research Projects
Evaluation of Commercial Next-Generation Sequencing Mutation Testing for Targeted Cancer Therapy


Programme(s) to which this project applies:
☒ MPhil/PhD ☑ MRes[Med] ☒ URIS

Objective and Significance:

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is now routinely used by oncologists to identify potential druggable targets for cancer patients. Such sequencing tests are now widely available through numerous commercial companies, yet the decision on selecting the most appropriate vendor is not always obvious due to a lack of patient specific comparative data. The overall objective of this project is to evaluate a range of commercial NGS panels on matched cancer patient samples in order to provide an objective measure of their performance and impact on disease management.

Research Plan and Methodology:

(1) Select samples from an existing tissue bank for panel testing, whole exome and whole genome sequencing.

(2) Compare and contrast results between the different sequencing methods and results from commercial vendors.

(3) Critically evaluate tumour mutation burden estimation from panel testing and develop new bioinformatics methods to optimize tumour mutation burden estimation.

Through this project, students will learn to:

(1) Prepare samples for genomics testing

(2) Interpret genomic test reports

(3) Apply basic computational and bioinformatics skills in genomic data analysis

Professor JWH Wong, School of Biomedical Sciences

Biography
jwhwong@hku.hk

For more information or to express interest for this project, please email the supervisor or the specified contact point in the project description.  Interested candidates are advised to enclose with your email:

  1. your CV,
  2. a brief description of your research interest and experience, and
  3. two reference letters (not required for HKUMed UG students seeking MRes[Med]/URIS projects).

Information on the research programme, funding support and admission documentations could be referenced online at the Research Postgraduate Admissions website. General admission enquiries should be directed to rpgmed@hku.hk.

HKUMed MBBS students interested in the Master of Research in Medicine (MRes[Med]) programme may visit the programme website for more information.  

HKUMed UG students interested in the Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme (URIS) may visit the scheme’s website for more information. 

Research @ School of Biomedical Sciences