Julia Zeitlinger, Ph.D.

Research

The long-term goal of our research is to identify predictive rules by which gene expression programs are established in an organism and apply them to human disease. It is known that gene expression programs are specified by signal transduction pathways that are activated by signals from neighboring cells during development. However, how these signal transduction pathways regulate gene expression is highly context-dependent. Based on current knowledge, gene regulation depends on two principles, combinatorial regulation and (epigenetic) cellular memory. We are studying both principles in Drosophila using genome-wide techniques that map protein-DNA interaction, expression analysis, computational methods and classical Drosophila genetics.