Computational Biology of Epigenetic Regulation in Chromatin

A fully funded Ph.D. student position is available in the group of Dr. Vladimir B. Teif in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex (http://generegulation.info). We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with solid computer programming skills and a degree in biophysics, computational biology, systems biology, bioinformatics or related field. Knowledge or willingness to learn molecular biology techniques is a plus. Scientific curiosity and interest in gene regulation is a must.

The proposed project is devoted to modelling epigenetic regulation in chromatin using approaches of theoretical biophysics and computational biology, based on experimental data from different types of next generation sequencing techniques. Our long-term mission is to understand how Nature “computes” molecular assembly in chromatin, which determines changes in gene expression during normal cell differentiation or cancer progression. See examples of our recent publications: Beshnova et al. (2014) PLoS Comput Biol 10, e1003698; Teif et al. (2014) Genome Research, 24, 1285-95; Teif et al. (2012) Nature Struct Mol Biol 19, 1185-92. Our most frequently used techniques for this project are: (1) methods of statistical mechanics to construct theoretical biophysical models of macromolecular binding and parameterize those using experimental data from multiple sources, and (2) methods of bioinformatics and computational biology to analyse and integrate different high-throughput sequencing datasets. The Ph.D. student working on this project will mostly perform theoretical or computational work and will closely interact with other group members and collaborators who are using experimental methods of mammalian cell manipulation, molecular biology techniques and next generation sequencing methods, as well as with medical doctors. The School of Biology offers a rich scientific environment, with several new groups forming the Genomics initiative and the Essex Biomedical Sciences Institute. Appropriate training in next generation sequencing analysis, as well as the biology of cell differentiation and cancer transitions will be provided.