Human disease phenotypes often manifest differently by sex, including age of onset, disease
incidence, symptoms and response to therapy. DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification
involving the covalent transfer of a methyl group to the 5’ carbon of cytosine residues.
Methylation of DNA plays a key role in determining genomic structure and function, including
regulation of cellular differentiation and gene expression. Read more

Supervisor: Dr. Melanie Waldenberger
Group: Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology
Institute: Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Center Munich

Collaborating supervisor: Dr. Kathryn Evans
Group: Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute for Genetics and Cancer, the
University of Edinburgh
Institute: Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute for Genetics and Cancer, the
University of Edinburgh

The project aims to address the evolutionary dynamics of the different sub-compartments of the nucleus of eukaryotic cells and reveal how they relate to genome function. The compartmentalization of the nucleus into functional condensates, so-called membraneless organelles (MLOs), contributes to transcriptional regulation. Read more

Supervisor: Dr. Nicolas Battich
Group: Battich lab
Institute: Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells, Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Center Munich

Collaborating supervisor: Dr. Joseph Marsh
Group: Marsh lab
Institute: MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh

Fungal survival in harsh environments involves stress-sensing pathways that reprogram their
proteomes. New conditions, including climate change, can push opportunistic fungi to colonise
novel niches, potentially becoming harmful pathogens. Read more

Supervisor: Dr. Maria Colomé-Tatché
Group: Computational Epigenomics
Institute: Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Center Munich

 

Collaborating supervisor: Dr. Robin Allshire
Group: Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology
Institute:  Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences,
University of Edinburgh

Akute leukemia is a blood cancer that usually starts displaying symptoms in a late stage, making its
treatment difficult and often unsuccessful. The disease is caused by carcinogenic mutations in
hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). They cause the cells to proliferate instead of differentiating further
towards mature blood cells. Read more

Supervisor: Dr. Carsten Marr
Group: Marr Group
institute: Institute of AI for Health, Helmholtz Munich

Collaborating supervisor: Dr. Linus Schumacher
Group: Linus Schumacher Group
institute: University of Edinburgh, Centre for Regenerative Medicine

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA sequences that constitute large fractions of many eukaryotic genomes. They have an increasingly recognized role in regulating cellular identity changes in many different contexts, like embryonic development and the onset of many diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases and cancer (Bourque et al. 2018). Read more

Main supervisor: Dr. Antonio Scialdone
Group: Physics and data-based modelling of cellular identity changes
Institute: Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells, Helmholtz Center Munich

Collaborating Supervisor: Dr. Catalina Vallejos
Group: Biomedical Data Science
Institute: MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics & Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh