International PhD Programme - Unveiling the Chromatin Biology of Rare Genetic Diseases to Delineate Innovative Therapeutic Solutions

The Chrom-Rare Consortium

Chrom_Rare is a EU-funded consortium relying on a collaborative effort of multi-disciplinary research teams all around Europe, that share the aim of working towards unveiling the molecular basis of chromatinopthies to delineate innovative therapeutic solutions.

The goal

Chromatinopathies (CPs) are a group of rare genetic diseases, which share clinical features as well as causal genetic alterations, leading to the inactivation of chromatin regulators involved in gene expression control and 3D chromatin organization.Within the framework of Chrom_Rare, our main goal is to set-up an intra-sectoral, cross-disciplinary training programme that would prepare the next generation of researchers equipped with advanced theoretical, technical and computational skills to study fundamental aspects of chromatin biology and their impact on chromatinopaties (CPs). In parallel, Chrom_Rare will devise new strategies to translate the molecular findings into new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for patients affected by CPs. We are thus looking for Doctoral Candidates that will join this PhD programme and that will work towards understanding the molecular basis of chromatinopathies, specifically aiming at:

1) developing multiple disease models recapitulating the main clinical features of CPs (WP1). 

2) investigating the genetic, epigenetic and topological determinants of CPs (WP2). 

3) uncovering perturbed regulatory circuitries suitable for therapeutic intervention (WP3).

The projects

The consortium provides 10 PhD projects (DCs), distributed among the different partner laboratories:

DC1: Role of chromatin factors in establishing nuclear mechanical properties - University of Trento, Italy

DC2: Characterizing cortical neurons in Kabuki syndrome to understand biology and identify therapeutic targets - University of Manchester, UK

DC3: Epigenome and transcriptome in depth analysis of patient-derived model for CPs, mapping of possible alterations and effects of epi-drugs on the profiles - University of Montpellier, France

DC4: Computational modelling of epigenome rewiring (walking pathways) during cell differentiation. Model validation by in depth analysis of epigenome and transcriptome data -  Genexplain GMBH, Germany

DC5: Enhancer responsiveness in disease models of Cornelia de Lange and Wiedemann-Steiner syndromes - CSIC/IBBTEC, Spain

DC6: Genotype/phenotype and epi-genotype correlations, immune phenotype in CPs - University of Montpellier, France

DC7: Defining the molecular consequences of haploinsufficiency in CEBP and p300 histone acetyltransferases underpinning the RT syndrome - Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

DC8: Biobanking, DNA-methylation signature and 3D genome organization in the study of Kabuki syndrome - University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy

DC9: Defining the proximal proteome of mutant chromatin proteins associated with CPs - Radboud University, Netherlands

DC10: Dissecting alterations of nuclear compartmentalization in CPs: from LLPS to molecular dynamics - University of Trento, Italy

Apply by March 31st!

Follow this link to get access to all information regarding the Chrom_Rare projects and instructions on how to apply. https://chromrare.eu/index.php/application/

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101073334.