Colin Semple Research Group
Origins and Impacts of Regulatory Mutations
Section: Biomedical Genomics
Research in a Nutshell
The genes embedded in your genome have complex patterns of activity and particular constellations of genes must be active at particular times for biological processes, such as embryonic development, to conclude successfully. I am interested in the fundamental biology of gene regulation: when, how and why genes are turned on and off. We try to understand the mechanisms underlying gene regulation, using computational analyses of genomic datasets. This can provide new insights into human evolution and help us interpret disease processes with aberrant regulation, such as cancers and developmental disorders. We focus on relatively poorly studied cancers, such as ovarian cancer and the brain cancer glioblastoma, where the tumour genomes become dramatically rearranged as they evolve during disease progression. With our clinical and experimental collaborators we explore the consequences of these rearrangements for gene functions, and for cancer patient outcomes. The aim is to better understand tumour biology, to reveal new vulnerabilities that can be targeted in cancer treatments.
People |
|
| Professor Colin Semple | Group leader and Head of Bioinformatics |
| Dr Stuart Aitken | Bioinformatician |
| Dr Vera Kaiser | Bioinformatician |
| Dr Devin Bendixsen | Bioinformatician |
|
Stuart Brown |
PhD student |
| Neil Robertson | PhD student |
| Thomas Parry | PhD student |
| Ryan Silk | PhD student |
| Alhafidz Hamdan | ECAT fellow |
| Mitchell Foster | ECAT fellow |
Bioinformatics Analysis Core |
|
| Dr Alison Meynert | Institute of Genetics and Cancer Bioinformatics Analysis Core Manager |
| Dr Philippe Gautier | Bioinformatician |
| Mr Graeme Grimes | Bioinformatician |
| Dr Mihail Halachev | NHS/Institute of Genetics and Cancer Translational Bioinformatician |
| Dr Elvina Gountouna | Institute of Genetics and Cancer Research Data Manager |
| Hannes Becher | Institute of Genetics and Cancer Statistician |
| Murray Wham | Bioinformatician |
Contact
Collaborations
- Professor Wendy Bickmore, MRC Human Genetics Unit
- Professor Malcolm Dunlop, MRC Human Genetics Unit
- Professor David Fitzpatrick, MRC Human Genetics Unit
- Professor Chris Haley, MRC Human Genetics Unit
- Professor Martin Taylor, MRC Human Genetics Unit
- Dr Nicola Crosetto, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Professor Charlie Gourley, Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre
- Professor Piero Carninci, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Japan
Partners and Funders
Scientific Themes
Medical Genomics, Bioinformatics, Transcriptomics, Epigenomics
Technology Expertise
Computational Biology