Developmental timing in mammalian stem cell models

The Rayon’s lab (www.rayonlab.org) overall aim at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge is to investigate the molecular and metabolic pathways that control biological timing and lifespan. To answer these questions, we work with mouse and human stem cells and embryos and employ a variety of quantitative and genomic techniques. We are looking for applicants that are curious about evolution, developmental biology and embryonic stem cells.

We are interested in the following topics:
1.    Understanding the regulation of enhancer timing. We want to test the existence of species-specific enhancers and their dynamics.
2.    Exploiting genetic variation to investigate dynamics of regulatory networks in stem cell models.  
3.    To develop a high-content imaging assay to screen for modulators of timing. Develop a screen to explore if epigenetic, metabolic, and turnover factors impact the pace of differentiation.

A background on cell culture or molecular biology, as well as skills in bioinformatics or computational approaches would be useful, but ample opportunities for training will be provided.