The main focus of the group is to develop and use state-of-the-art technologies to study the non-coding regulatory part of the genome, especially the silencers, so as to define the essential genomic elements for cell survival, development, drug response, and other important biological pathways. We have developed a unique high-throughput system to study the silencer regions of the genome (Nature Genetics. 52, 254–263, 2020). In addition, we have also developed another unique screening system using CRISPR/Cas9 to study the function of other non-coding regulatory regions. You will be actively involved in identifying silencers in an unbiased way to gain a more general understanding of the biology of silencers. We aim to identify a general pattern of epigenetic modifications of silencers, unique combination of sequence motifs, responsible regulatory TFs, biological pathways that are regulated by silencers, diseases that might be related to mutations in silencers, and, finally, better manipulation strategies of silencers. The main techniques consist of designing custom screen libraries, performing high-throughput screening, ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, cell imaging, human stem cell differentiation assays, and bioinformatics analyses.

You should be fluent in English, self-motivated, collaborative, and hold a PhD degree with a strong background in molecular biology, cell biology and genetics (e.g. cell culture, cloning, CRISPR-Cas9 editing). Furthermore, you have good publication records in molecular biology, cell biology, or genetics.

Fixed-term contract: 2 years.

You will be appointed for two years, possibly to be extended for the duration of the project.

Department of Cell and Chemical Biology

The independent research group is led by Dr. Baoxu Pang, principle Investigator/assistant professor, and funded by grants from Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Dutch Cancer Society (KWF), and the European Research Council (ERC). The Department of Cell and Chemical Biology consists of multidisciplinary research groups, and offers a stimulating and friendly working environment, with regular seminars and inter-group meetings.