A fundamental question in the field of genetics is how epigenetic traits are inherited and affected by the environment through cellular divisions. To answer this question, one must be able to track all the epigenetic compositions in each individual cell and their progeny at the single-cell level. The long-term goal of this proposed K99/R00 program is devoted to the mission of the National Human Genome Research institute (NHGRI) to develop high-throughput, low-cost technology for accurate cell-specific profiles of single cells. In detail, the candidate will develop micro-fluidics based single-cell chromatin extraction and processing protocols, collect unique interaction maps of a protein-DNA complex associated with various epigenetic marks for differentiation and identification, develop informatics for data handling, analysis and visualization of multidimensional epigenetic data, and demonstrate the capacity of the high- throughput profiling method. With this technology, the candidate will be able to develop a long- term independent research program in several possible directions, including early embryonic development, cancer progression and stem cell therapeutics. And the success of the proposed project will help to further our understanding of the structure and biology of the genome and their roles in the normal and disease bioprocesses.
All diseases result from the interplay of behaviors; environmental factors; genetic variation; and epigenetic composition. This project will provide epigenomic profiles of cells towards the single- cell level; which is essential and is the first step to get a deeper insight into the complexities nd intricacy of the gene-environment interaction; and may provide new general strategies for disease prevention and therapeutic intervention.
