Are microbes the hidden influencers? Unravelling the genomic network of host-microbe interactions.
The genome is identical in every cell of our organism but its three-dimensional (3D) structure is different in every cell type. Genes, enhancers and other regions interact with each other forming 3D genome networks. We analyse the properties of these networks, their sub-communities or fluxes of information, as we do with social networks.
Recent data suggest that genetic variants associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be associated with aberrant responses to commensal or pathogenic microbes. However, many of them are in non-coding regions and remain unexplored.
You will investigate the role of microbes as “hidden influencers” of variation in these sequences.
We offer interdisciplinary training opportunities at the interface of bioinformatics, microbiology and immunology, with two main objectives:
- to identify communities of genes and enhancers activated in immune cells in response to microbes
- to uncover associations between IBD variants and enhancers regulating these responses
The primary supervisor (Daniel Rico) will provide training in quantitative skills (mathematics, statistics, computation, data analytics and informatics, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence). The other members of the supervisory team are experts in immunodeficiencies and infections (Sophie Hambleton), inflammatory bowel disease (Chris Lamb) and evolution of microbes (Robert Hirt), offering interdisciplinary training opportunities at the interface of computational and systems biology, microbiology and translational medicine.
100% of UK/EU tuition fees paid and annual living expenses of £15,285 (full award). Successful international candidates will be required to make up the difference between the UK/EU fees and international fees.
Original source and how to apply: https://www.ncl.ac.uk//postgraduate/funding/sources/allstudents/bi022.html