Doktorant/PhD student at the Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Description of tasks: Resveratrol, curcumin, and related antioxidant phytochemicals with phenolic groups have preventive and therapeutic effects with respect to cancer. These effects can be studied using the ultra-modern tools of transcriptomics, as the phytochemicals induce global alterations in gene expression profiles. In particular, resveratrol and curcumin can induce transcription of genes related to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in cancer cells cultured in vitro. Dr. Huminiecki — the principal investigator (PI) on the project — will start with a computational re-analysis of public transcriptomics datasets available for curcumin, resveratrol, and similar phytochemicals. Next, the PI and the PhD student will together conduct experiments to generate new transcriptomics datasets, from either normal or cancer cells treated with the phytochemicals. Our experiments and datasets will focus on dose escalation, time-courses, splicing, and alternative transcriptional start sites, as well as non-coding RNAs, which is a novel approach. We will also compare responses in p53 wild type versus p53-mutated cell lines to differentiate between different mechanisms of apoptosis. The studentship is funded by a grant from the prestigious Polish National Science Center — NCN, which guarantees a safe project, good education, and enjoyable working environment. (Moreover, the PhD position will be advertised and filled according to all professional rules, the standards of professional conduct, and legal regulations of the hosting Institute and NCN.)

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