Thursday, January 8, 2009

PhD / Postdoc Positions Netherlands Cancer Institute

The Netherlands: PhD / Postdoc Positions in Systems Biology of Insertional Mutagenesis, Netherlands Cancer Institute

PhD / Postdoc Positions in Systems Biology of Insertional Mutagenesis, Netherlands Cancer Institute, The Netherlands

A major goal of cancer research is to understand the gene networks that control tumorigenesis. Towards this end, large scale in vivo insertional mutagenesis screens are performed at the NKI. While this approach is extremely powerful, it still suffers from some limitations. First, viral insertions in the genome are not completely random, but show substantial biases. Second, when a virus integrates in an intergenic region, it is difficult to predict which of the surrounding genes will be affected. Third, the expression status of the integrated provirus itself is likely to be affected by the local chromatin structure.

In this project we will employ very large scale insertion data obtained via deep sequencing, expression data en newly generated and public genome and chromatin profiling datasets to construct predictive models of insertion bias, effects of the environment on the genes and the effects of the insertions on genes. These models will be validated through directed perturbations of components identified in the modeling step as critical.

Requirements:
The ideal candidates will have a background in one of the following areas: bioinformatics, engineering, computer science, statistics, physics, biotechnology, or biology. Knowledge of fundamental aspects of computer science (algorithms and data structures, programming languages) is required. Knowledge of statistics, artificial intelligence or bioinformatics is highly desirable.

Contact:
For further information about the position, or to apply, please contact Dr. Lodewyk Wessels tel. +31 20 512 7987 or e-mail: l.wessels[ at ]nki.nl