Catholic University of Louvain
Health Science Sector
Department of Pneumology, ENT and Dermatology
Group of Genetics and Epigenetics
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Unit
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The EPILUNG-CARE consortium from the DDUV and IREC institutes
looks for a :
PhD student
Project : research project « Exploring the methylome of airway basal cells in chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (CH3OPD)», which aims at determining whether alterations in DNA methylation could
explain the aberrant stem cell imprinting observed in those patients, by assessing genome-wide DNA
methylation in isolated basal cells and by examining the genes that connect such dysregulation to disease
pathophysiology, in the framework of a PhD program in biomedical science.
The project integrates the concerted research action/Action de Recherche Concertée (ARC), i.e. team program
of 3 groups, called “Epigenomic and proteomic investigation of lung regeneration and disease (EPILUNGCARE)”
that will explore dysregulations of lung cell regeneration occurring in the airways from patients with
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, compared with controls), by connecting epigenomic studies of
basal stem cells (this PhD project, LUNS-Pilette group) to the generation of a single-cell proteomic (and
transcriptomic) atlas of the human lung (second project, CBIO-Gatto group) and to the study of FAM83A as an
epigenetically-regulated biomarker of aberrant lung regeneration (third project, GEPI-De Smet group).
Practical aspects: Grant starting from 01 Oct 2024, for one or two years whilst applying to other funding sources
for the prolongation. Qualification: Master in biomedical sciences or biology; or equivalent. Application &
information: please send detailed Curriculum Vitae and motivation letter (ideally with two reference persons) by email
to Pr Charles PILETTE : charles.pilette@uclouvain.be and Charles De Smet (charles.desmet@uclouvain.be).