Development of new technologies to study the connection between chromosome architecture and regulation of the gene expression program

就像电脑一样，我们的细胞依靠操作系统来驱动正常的功能。基因表达程序是我们细胞发挥这些生物功能所依赖的主要源代码。因此，维持基因表达程序的完整性对所有细胞都至关重要。随着尖端技术的出现，有关基因表达计划的规则正在迅速扩大。有了这笔发现基金，我们的研究项目将研究染色体（DNA）结构如何与基因表达程序的调节联系在一起。每个基因的表达是高度动态的，因为基因产物（RNA）需要根据细胞环境增加和减少。我们将开发新技术，在任何给定时间动态测量基因表达。在细胞分裂过程中，染色体结构也是高度动态的。此外，染色体的大小需要适应较小的核空间。因此，我们将在全球范围内开发新的研究染色体构象的方法。随着研究界从单基因分析转向一次性可视化所有基因的全球方法，这些尖端技术是必需的。这项研究计划将培养下一代高素质的人才，利用全球基因组技术来解决生物学问题。由此产生的方法将很容易适用于加拿大科学界正在进行的许多研究项目。总的来说，这个研究项目将极大地造福加拿大，为快速发展的研究领域提供新的尖端基因组工具和高素质的人才。

Like computers, our cells depend on operating systems to drive normal functions. The gene expression program is the main source code our cells rely on to play these biological functions. Therefore, maintaining the integrity of the gene expression program is critical for all cells. Rules governing the gene expression program are expanding rapidly mainly fueled by the arising of new cutting-edge technologies. With this Discovery Grant, our research program will study how the chromosome (DNA) structure is connected to regulation of the gene expression program. Expression of each gene is highly dynamic as gene products (RNA) need to be increased and decreased depending on the cellular context. We will develop new technologies to dynamically measure gene expression at any given time. The chromosome structure is also highly dynamic during cell division. Moreover, chromosome sizes need to be adapted to fit the small nuclear space. Therefore, we will develop new methods to study chromosome conformation globally. These cutting-edge technologies are needed as the research community moves from single gene analysis to global methods visualizing all genes at once. This research program will train the next-generation of highly qualified personnel using global genomic technologies to address biological questions. The resulting methods will be easily adaptable to many research programs ongoing in the Canadian scientific community. Overall, this research program will greatly benefit Canada by providing new cutting-edge genomic tools and highly qualified personnel to a rapidly evolving research field.