Integrative Chemometric Strategies for Enhanced Multi-Omic Understanding of Long-Term Effects of Endocrine Disruptors in Ecotoxicological Studies
Join the team of our member Laia Navarro Martin.
Host Organization
IDAEA -CSIC Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research. Spain, Barcelona.
‘’la Caixa’’ Foundation Doctoral INPhINIT Fellowships
Dr.Laia Navarro-Martin and her team offer the opportunity to apply for a PhD fellowship of the ”la Caixa” INPhINIT Incoming program in the field of Environmental Omics. Excellent conditions (salary and complementary training ). Mobility is required (coming from outside Spain).
Read more about this PhD fellowship.
Application
Deadline for scholarship application: 4th February 2021.
For more information, do not hesitate to contact: laia.navarro@idaea.csic.es
Research Project Description
Endocrine Disruption Chemicals (EDCs) pose a risk for human and environmental health, altering the normal function of the endocrine system. Persistent adverse outcomes have been observed after cessation of exposure to EDCs, which are mediated through epigenetic mechanisms. However, integrating epigenetics into risk assessment remains challenging since no clear associations can be established between epigenetic and other molecular changes. Data fusion of multi-omic analysis implies some complex processing steps. Novel data analysis approaches propose the mid-level data fusion (i.e. set of significant variables) to identify common biological processes between different omic levels. These methods separate contributions from the different omic blocks in common processes (present in all levels) and individual contributions (only in one of the biological levels). Our research group focus on integrating multi-omic data fusion to better understand the modes of action of EDCs that cause long-term effects in exposed wild-life animals and humans. To achieve these goals, the PhD thesis will be focused on: 1) performing multi-omic studies on organisms exposed to EDCs; 2) developing analytical approaches to generate multi-omics analysis; 3) establishing novel data analysis strategies to perform multi-omic data fusion.
The research will be carried out at the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), a Centre of Excellence “Severo Ochoa”, a distinction that indicates the high-quality scientific leadership and global impact of developed the work. The PhD project will be integrated within the “Environmental Toxicology” and the “Chemometrics” research groups, which for the past years have joined efforts to apply multi-omic approaches to resolve scientific challenges related to environmental toxicology.
Job Position Description
The ultimate goal of the project will be to use multi-omic approaches to achieve a better understanding of EDCs modes action. To do so, the main tasks associated with the development of the PhD project are:
• To carry out experimental exposures to EDCs using zebrafish embryos in a time- and dose-response manner.
• To perform multi-omic analysis (including epigenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and spatial omics) using high-throughput techniques, such as whole-genome bisulfite sequencing, Chip-sequencing, RNA-sequencing or untargeted LC-HRMS, among others.
• To develop strategies for the independent and simultaneous analysis of this imaging data coming from different omics platforms.
• To develop novel chemometric data fusion strategies based on non-linear machine learning approaches (i.e. neural networks or support vector machines)
The PhD student will work in a diverse and inclusive environment that potentiates a good working atmosphere and a healthy work-life balance among team members. The student will be motivated to work within the research team as well as to perform some tasks independently. During the development of the PhD project, the student will receive high quality and interdisciplinary training in molecular biology, analytical chemistry, bioinformatics and data fusion using Bioconductor/R environment and MATLAB software. The student will also have the opportunity to attend national and international meetings relevant to the subject of the thesis and will also participate in international research and training stages in laboratories abroad.
Other Relevant Websites
Alternative website of the Chemometrics group focused on the application of data analysis tools to environmental omics studies. In this website, a more detailed description of the research topics is available. In addition, a comprehensive list of the different group outputs is accessible: publications, projects, software, etc.
www.ch4eo.info
