About the laboratory:
Our laboratory, Genome Information Analysis Team, is part of the RIKEN Center of Integrative Medical Sciences in Yokohama, Japan. The mission of our laboratory is to understand the origins and functions of non-coding transcription in human genome, with a focus on long non-coding RNAs and enhancer RNAs implicated in diseases. We have been at the forefront of annotating these non-coding RNAs using large-scale in-house transcriptomic datasets (e.g. FANTOM) . We also integrate our in-house datasets with public epigenomic and genetic datasets to gain insights into the roles of non-coding RNAs in human diseases. Our team is primarily composed of bioinformatic analysts specialized in transcriptomics and genetics, but we are working closely with experimental biologists of other teams on technology development (e.g. single-cell transcriptomics) as well as other collaborative projects.
Relevant publication: Hon CC et al, An atlas of human long non-coding RNAs with accurate 5' ends. Nature (2017)
About the job:
We are reciting both wet and dry researchers on the project "Characterization of non-coding RNAs implicated in neurological diseases".
For dry researchers: http://www.riken.jp/en/careers/researchers/20180510_2/
The successful candidate will integrate public and proprietary datasets of transcriptomics (e.g. RNA-Seq, CAGE), epigenomics (e.g. Hi-C, ATAC-Seq) and genetics (GWAS and eQTL) to prioritize non-coding RNAs relevant to neurological disorders. Single-cell transcriptome profiling of cellular disease models will be used to identify the molecular signatures of the cell-types relevant to neurological disorders. The candidate will integrate public epigenomic and genetic datasets with these disease relevant molecular signatures to nominate non-coding RNAs for genetic perturbations (e.g. CRISPR interference). The disease relevance of these non-coding RNAs will be evaluated by integrative analyses of the datasets generated from cellular phenotypic assays and transcriptomic profiling after genetic perturbation. The ultimate goal is to identify disease-relevant functional non-coding RNAs with therapeutic potentials. The candidate is expected to tightly collaborate with other experimental researchers in the division.
For wet researchers: http://www.riken.jp/en/careers/researchers/20180510_3/
The successful candidate will 1) establish and characterize cellular model(s) of neurological disorders, 2) perform genetic perturbations on the non-coding RNAs in such models and 3) evaluate the disease-relevance of these non-coding RNAs. Establishment and characterization of such models involve manipulation of induced pluripotent stem cells and application of single-cell transcriptomics. Genetic perturbations in such models involve the application of CRISPR interference and antisense oligonucleotide technologies. Evaluation of these genetic perturbations involves cellular phenotypic assays and transcriptomic profiling. The ultimate goal is to identify disease-relevant functional non-coding RNAs with therapeutic potentials. The candidate will be expected to tightly collaborate with other experimental researchers in the division for setting up the systems of single-cell transcriptomics and CRISPR interference.
Contact: Mail to chungchau.hon at riken.jp for further information.
