Job Company: Institut of Molecular Biology (IMB)
Applications are invited for a postdoctoral researcher position in the laboratory of Dr. Vijay Tiwari (www.imb-mainz.de/research-at-imb/tiwari). The successful applicant will contribute to internationally competitive research on epigenetic regulation of cell-fate specification during development. [More]
Cellular differentiation refers to acquisition of specific cell-fates during development. It has become evident that this process involves genomewide reprogramming of epigenetic modifications such as histone marks resulting in transcriptional changes that drives cell-fate. Building on our expertise in epigenomics and gene regulation, we aim to investigate function of certain novel chromatin regulators and transcription factors in mediating epigenome and transcriptome reprogramming during lineage commitment and terminal differentiation. [More]
Modified DNA bases play an important epigenetic role in the regulation of gene expression in development and disease. In mammals there are four different cytidine modifications in genomic DNA known to have an epigenetic function, most prominently 5-hydroxymethylcotosine. There are many more known DNA modifications, whose function remain unknown and await characterization, including of the cellular enzymes that affect these modifications, which will be the aim of the project. Our lab has a broad expertise not only in molecular cell biology and bioinformatics, but in bioanalytical chemistry, where we are using LC/MS/MS detection for modified nucleobases. Beyond mass spectrometry analysis, we will knockout candidate genes in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) by the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technique and analyze the physiological relevance of these genes in pluripotency and during mESC in vitro differentiation by e.g. RNA sequencing. Given the biological importance of the new DNA modification, the project promises to be ground breaking, opening unexplored fields in epigenetics. This PhD project will be particularly suited for students with interest in biochemistry and/or bioorganic analytical methods, particularly mass spectrometry. [More]