Our Research Focus
Advancing genomic workflows
Building on the latest technological innovations in genome sequencing, we design computational and molecular workflows to bring unprecedented resolution to the analysis of the human genome and its function. These workflows can then be deployed to a vast array of biological problems, in particular aiming at improving cancer diagnosis and treatment pathways.
Mechanisms of gene regulation
Multiple layers of regulation influence gene expression in addition to the actual DNA sequence, in particular chemical modifications of the DNA and RNA molecules and how DNA is packaged. Our goal is to untangle the molecular mechanisms that are responsible for reading and writing these regulatory (epigenetic) layers, and integrate them into a cohesive model that can be leveraged to target genome dysregulation in cancer.
Personalised genomic medicine
Knowing the individual make-up of a patient’s genome, for both healthy and cancerous cells, enables the rational design of a highly effective personalised treatment. We aim to facilitate the transition to routine genome mapping for patients, and drive the development of precision medicine.
Recent Publications
Fast facts
Epigenetics is defined as the changes in gene expression that are independent of the DNA sequence, and usually includes mechanisms such as DNA methylation. Cancer cells overhaul their epigenetic state, silencing anti-tumour genes and activating pro-tumour genes.
Each cell contains two versions of the 3.2 billion A,T,C and G DNA bases. Genome sequencing involves defining the exact sequence of these 6.4 billion bases, also taking into account that cancer cells have their own mutations.
Technological progress is vastly increasing the amount of data we can collect from biological experiments, requiring high-throughput data analysis techniques including AI to extract insights from the mass of noisy data. We develop new methods to make the most of these new, rich datasets.
GENOME RESEARCH
Measuring X-Chromosome inactivation skew for X-linked diseases with adaptive nanopore sequencing
DOI: 10.1101/gr.279396.124
November 2024
ANTIBODY RESEARCH
Alpseq: an open-source workflow to turbocharge nanobody discovery with high-throughput sequencing
DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2026.2623326
February 2026
Genome Research
Complete genetic and epigenetic architecture of D4Z4 macrosatellites in FSHD, BAMS, and reference cohorts with D4Z4End2End
DOI: 10.1101/gr.280907.125
March 2026
Our team
- Dr Quentin Gouil – Head, Health and Epigenomics Across Life Laboratory
- Dr Maxime Jullien – Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- Sharon Li – Research Assistant
- Jacob Paxman – Master’s Student
- Shi Ling Lo – Master’s Student
- Alina Phang – Master’s Student
- Kenny Bach – Honours Student