Postdoctoral Fellow - Epigenomics and Gene Regulation

We are seeking a talented Postdoctoral Fellow to lead research projects in the area of human epigenomics and gene regulation. The Hodges lab is an interdisciplinary team within the Department of Biochemistry, the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, and Center for Computational Systems Biology in the School of Medicine at Vanderbilt University. Our lab employs state of the art functional genomic techniques to study epigenome dynamics in human development and disease. Postdoc candidates with a strong interest in combining experimental and computational approaches to understand the interplay between gene regulatory DNA sequences and epigenetic mechanisms that control gene expression are encouraged to apply.

Projects in the lab are focused on 1) understanding the mechanistic role of DNA methylation in the cell type specific regulation of gene enhancers and promoters (Barnett et al., Mol Cell, 2020, Guerin et al., bioRxiv, 2024), 2) using comparative DNA methylation profiling to define cell-type essential gene enhancers and trace cell developmental histories (Scott et al., BMC Genomics, 2023), 3) dissecting the relationship between enhancer DNA sequences and epigenetics in human patient EHR data and 4) comparing this relationship across species (Hansen et al., Cell Genomics, 2024). Ultimately, our long-term mission is to understand how gene regulatory differences - at both DNA sequence and epigenetic levels - give rise to trait diversity and disease susceptibility. We develop and use cutting-edge DNA sequencing technologies combined with computational approaches including machine learning to map and quantify these epigenetic features throughout the human genome.

A Ph.D. in biochemistry, molecular biology, or a related field is required. Experience in bioinformatics and statistical genetics/genomics is desirable. Candidates should ideally have completed their PhD within the last 3 years.