Despite a strong genetic contribution to obesity and diabetes, genome wide association studies have identified variants that can only explain less than 10% of the observed heritability. This discrepancy... read more

keywords: Phenotypic variation, epigenetic inheritance, epigenetic modifiers, mouse phenotyping, complex diseases, epigenomics

Supervisor: Raffaele Teperino, PhD

Group: Environmental Epigenetics Group

Institute: Institute of Experimental Genetics

Most of the reactions that modify chromatin require metabolites as cofactors, suggesting an intimate link between epigenetic regulation and the metabolic state of a cell. We will make use of the nematode C. eleganss... read more

Keywords: nuclear organization, chromatin, metabolism, C. elegans, epigenetics, microscopy

Supervisor: Dr. Daphne S. Cabianca

Group: Environmental and Nuclear Organization

Institute: Institute of Functional Epigenetics

From epidemiological studies and experimental data, we know that chronic diseases accelerate the ageing process, suggesting that ageing and chronic diseases share common mechanisms. In human and mouse models... read more

Keywords: ageing, liver, non-alcoholic liver disease, single cell genomics, computational analysis, integration single cell data

Supervisor: Dr. Celia P. Martinez-Jimenez

Group: Molecular ageing

Institute: Helmholtz Pioneer Campus

This project will address a central question in epigenetics: what are the mechanisms via which the cellular environment controls genome function and the transcriptome? Read more

Keywords: chromatin, modification, epitranscriptomics, cancer, Crispr/Cas9

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Robert Schneider

Group: Chromatin Dynamics and Epigenetics

Institute: Institute of Functional Epigenetics

All biological processes are implemented by individual cells, of which the human body contains an unimaginable number (approximately 10^13). Surprisingly, it is completely unclear how it is guaranteed... read more

Keywords: CRISPR, Neural Stem Cell, Epigenomic editing, dCas9, Transcriptional engineering, gRNA libraries

Supervisor: Dr. Stefan H. Stricker

Group: Epigenetic Engineering

Institute: Institute of Stem Cell Research

Vertebrate eggs have the remarkable ability to induce nuclear reprogramming of somatic cells to enable the production of any other cell type of an organism upon nuclear transfer. During this process, the memory of cells, which is established by epigenetic mechanisms can be fully erased... read more

Keywords: Nuclear Reprogramming, Epigenetic Memory, Totipotency, Cell fate stability

Supervisor: Dr. Eva Hörmanseder

Group: Maintaining and Reprogramming Cell Fates

Institute: Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells

Chromatin modifications, such as DNA and histone methylation, depend on metabolic intermediates as cofactors used by the chromatin modifying enzymes. Plants undergo extensive metabolic changes between day and night, but the resulting implications for chromatin... read more

Keywords: Epigenetic regulation, one-carbon metabolism, chromatin, plant, circadian clock, climate change

Supervisor: Dr. Martin Groth

Group: Epigenetics and acclimation

Institute: Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology

Transcription and replication are the two major DNA metabolic processes in cells. Both machineries involve large protein complexes progressing along the DNA at high speed and for long distances. Importantly, a large body of evidence suggests that... read more

Keywords: Transcription, Replication, Epigenetic Instability, Episomal System, ChIP, DNA-FISH

Supervisor: Dr. Stephan Hamperl

Group: Chromosome dynamics and genome stability

Institute: Instittute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells

To achieve accurate packaging of DNA into chromatin, cells need to precisely control the concentration of histone proteins, the building blocks of nucleosomes. Typically, histone production is tightly linked to DNA replication... read more

Keywords: histone homeostasis, mouse embryo, transcription, smFISH, qPCR, cell size

Supervisor: Dr. Kurt Schmoller

Group: Cell and Organelle Size Control

Institute: Institute of Functional Epigenetics