The labs of
Alan Gerber (Amsterdam UMC, Location VUmc) and
Fred van Leeuwen (Netherlands Cancer Institute, NKI) are teaming up to crack the code of gene regulation of tRNA genes. In a project supported by ZonMW, we will address how the hundreds of tRNA genes in our genome are regulated in their own unique way in response to cellular stress, during differentiation, and in cancer. Current data on tRNA genes and models for regulation of protein coding genes do not provide an explanation for the observed dynamics in the expression of tRNA genes. In this collaborative project, we will investigate the mechanisms of tRNA gene regulation using novel methods and technologies in human cells and budding yeast. We will take advantage of CRISPR-mediated approaches, high-throughput analysis of DNA regulatory regions, novel tRNA sequencing methods, and innovative strategies to decode ‘proteomes’ and ‘regulomes’ of tRNA genes.
This project is a collaboration with NKI and the Van Leeuwen lab. A total of two PhD students will be hired on this project, one for Gerber Lab within Amsterdam UMC and one for van Leeuwen lab within NKI. For this project, we are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic PhD student who will work together and with the two teams (Gerber lab and the Van Leeuwen lab) to unravel the mechanisms of tRNA gene regulation.
One PhD student will be located in the Gerber lab (Amsterdam UMC, Department of Neurosurgery at the Cancer Center Amsterdam), the other in the Van Leeuwen lab at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (Division of Gene Regulation). The two institutes are only a 15 min bike ride apart.
Applications should include:
- Your CV;
- A motivation letter;
- Your transcripts of academic records;
- Contact information of at least 2 references.