Dr Marina Chekulaeva
Applications accepted all year round
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
Motor neuron disorders (MNDs) are a group of neurodegenerative diseases affecting motor neurons, i.e. neurons that control skeletal muscle contraction to produce motion. Degeneration of motor neurons leads to progressive paralysis and severe disability. Despite their heterogeneity, MNDs share common pathogenic pathways, including abnormalities in RNA splicing and transport. In our prior work, we have developed a neurite/soma fractionation scheme in combination with mass spectrometry, RNA-seq and ribosome profiling analyses, to identify proteins and RNAs that are differentially localized and translated between neurites and soma of neuronal cells (Zappulo et al., 2017). The aim of the current project is to apply this profiling scheme to motor neurons and their MNDs models, generated through in vitro differentiation procedures from stem cells, followed by integrative computational analysis to identify common players that change their expression and/or localization pattern in multiple MND models. The project will involve collaboration with international partners, contributing different expertise to the project, including computational analysis, in vivo MND models and clinical research. Computational candidates will have an option to work in a close tandem with experimentalists.
The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) is one of the leading biomedical institutes dedicated to interdisciplinary research. The most recent expansion of the MDC is the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB). It employs international stuff and runs an extensive scientific program in systems biology, integrating high-throughput technologies with bioinformatics, biochemistry, molecular and developmental biology.
For more information on the institute: http://www.mdc-berlin.de/en/bimsb/ and the lab: www.chekulaevalab.org
Funding Notes
Ideal candidate should have a background in biochemistry, molecular biology, bioinformatics, computer science or similar subjects, interest in RNA biology and mechanisms of gene regulation, and good knowledge of English. Computational candidates should have good programming skills for data analysis preferably in R and in one of the scripting languages such as Perl/Python.
To apply, please send your motivation letter and CV with contact details of least two referees, as a single pdf file, to marina.chekulaeva(at)mdc-berlin.de.
References
1) Zappulo A, van den Bruck D, Ciolli Mattioli C, Franke V, Imami K, McShane E, Moreno-Estelles M, Calviello L, Filipchyk A, Peguero-Sanchez E, Müller T, Wohler A, Birchmeier C, Merino E, Rajewsky N, Ohler U, Mazzoni E, Selbach M, Akalin A, and Chekulaeva M. RNA localization is the key determinant of neurite-enriched proteome. (2017). Nature Communications, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00690-6
2) Chekulaeva, M, Landthaler, M. Eyes on translation. (2016). Mol. Cell, doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2016.08.031