Dr. Peng’s research focuses on understanding how things work in the context of biological systems, using both data-driven and modeling approaches. Unique to biological systems is their emergent complexity and self-organization, which is deeply connected to gene regulation. Understanding gene regulation has been a major focus of molecular biology. Genetic information is encoded in the linear sequence of DNA, and despite all cells in the human body having the same genetic information, they each behave quite differently. For example, skin cells and immune cells exhibit dramatically distinct functions and morphologies. This occurs because different types of cells have different sets of genes turned on or off, a feature called epigenetics. How is this achieved? It turns out that potentially stable and heritable information, i.e. epigenetic information, is encoded outside of the primary DNA sequence. Nature has developed a sophisticated system of proteins (“writers”, “erasers” and “readers”) to manipulate this epigenetic information. The epigenetic marks and respective regulators play a critical role in establishing cell identity; their dysregulation is a major hallmark of diseases like cancer. Our research aims to understand gene regulation, with a special focus on the epigenetic aspect.

Job Duties Include:

• Application of methodologies: Development and application of analysis methodologies to characterize novel epigentic and post-transcriptional regulatory pathways.

• Integrative analysis of multi-omics data to decifer gene regulatory network in immune systems.

• Interaction with remote collaborator.

• Present finding at Professional Conferences

• Small amount of administrative work as needed.

• Performs other related duties as assigned. The omission of specific duties does not preclude the supervisor from assigning duties that are logically related to the position.

Minimum Qualifications:

Qualified candidates will hold a PhD in a related discipline. Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position.

Additional Required Licenses/Certifications/Posting Specific Minimum Qualifications: Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD in computational biology, bioinformatics, (bio)statistics, computer science, physical science or a similar field.

• Strong programming and quantitative background are required.

• Previous experience in computational genomics and/or machine-learning approaches are desirable.

• Possess strong motivation, critical thinking ability and effective communication skills. A candidate with exceptional qualification in wet lab may also be considered.