Making and Breaking Cancer Cells through Epigenome Programming (Postdoc & PhD Positions), CeMM, Austria (2016)

Epigenetic alterations can be detected in all cancers and in essentially every patient. Despite their prevalence, the concrete functional roles of these alterations are not well understood. In this project, we aim to develop and apply epigenome programming technology that will allow us to precisely manipulate the epigenome and to rationally reprogram normal cells into cancer cells and vice versa. We will adapt CRISPR technology and combinatorial use of epigenetic drugs to high-throughput epigenome editing, develop suitable screening assays, and ultimately engineer and erase a cancer from scratch through a defined series of epigenetic modifications. This project will establish a broadly applicable methodology and toolbox for dissecting the functional roles of epigenetic alterations in cancer, and it will introduce a “build it to understand it” paradigm into cancer epigenetics, which will challenge our understanding of cancer as a (mainly) genetic disease.

The Candidate
We are looking for highly motivated and academically outstanding candidates who want to pursue a scientific career in the emerging field of medical epigenomics. An ideal candidate would have a background in molecular biology (including functional genomics, chemical biology, biotechnology, human genetics, molecular medicine, etc.) or in the computational sciences (bioinformatics, physics, statistics, etc.) and a strong interest in collaboration and teamwork at the interdisciplinary interface of cancer epigenetics, systems biology, and medicine.

Further details:
http://academicpositions.eu