Project at AIAS

Regulation of gene expression forms the foundation for basic cellular processes, development and disease in multicellular organisms. During my postdoctoral work in Vienna, I discovered that animal genomes, through rapid ‘arms race’ evolution, evolve new molecular mechanisms that allow the cell to bend and bypass the textbook rules of gene expression. Such ‘hacked’ gene expression produces RNA molecules that are essential for animals to combat genetic parasites such as transposons (‘jumping genes’). With my AIAS fellow project, I will build on these new concepts to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying ‘hacked’ genome expression, 2) investigate the connection between transposon silencing and general regulation of the genome. To address these questions, I will combine genetic manipulation of both in vivo models (Drosophila) and cell culture systems with molecular analysis using diverse genomics approaches. With my research as AIAS fellow I aim to pioneer the emerging field of heterochromatin-based expression mechanisms and uncover new modes of genome regulation during animal development and disease.