Genome behaviour in cellular senescence generated by different pathways

Cells entering senescence in our bodies is responsible for age-related degeneration, diseases and illnesses, as well as a reduced life-span. Studies of senescence in culture requires primary cells that are induced to enter cellular senescence. However, we hypothesis that these methods using oncogenes, stress and enforced cell divisions do not give equivalent senescent states especially when assessing genome behaviour. Thus, this PhD project will compare chromosome and gene behaviour in the different types of senescence with assays that look at genome organisation - fluorescence in situ hybridisation and bio-imaging and analysis, chromosome conformation capture, epigenetics using chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing, gene expression via RNA seq and quantitative PCR and bioinformatics and the ability of new senotherapeutic drugs to rejuvenate senescent cells and repair any alterations to genome function in senescent cells.