Genomic heterogeneity in KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinomas

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in Australia. KRAS mutations occur in approximately 30% of lung adenocarcinomas. Until the recent development of KRAS inhibitors, KRAS mutations were considered undruggable targets. However, only a small proportion of patients experience durable responses to these therapies. Understanding the cancer heterogeneity and molecular mechanisms underpinning treatment response as well as acquired resistance, is critical to develop novel effective therapeutic strategies.

This project will explore inter- and intra-patient genomic and transcriptomic heterogeneity of KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinomas in the context of treatment response and patient outcome by utilising publicly available resources, such as TCGA, and data generated from pre-clinical models. The project will use various bioinformatic packages to analyse and present the data but will also require development of custom code. The project requires knowledge of python or R, preferably both.