Project Start Date: Winter 2013
Project Title: Transcriptomic and Genomic Analyses of Brain Development and Autism
Project Contact: Neelroop Parikshak <neelroop@ucla.edu>

Project Description:
Human brain development is a complex process that involves the precise regulation of thousands of genes. We are applying RNA sequencing combined with multiple other genomics methods (exome sequencing, genome sequencing, ChIP sequencing) to better understand how these genes work together at a quantitative and systems biology level. We hope that analyzing brain development from this perspective sheds light on the biology underlying brain development and its susceptibility to autism, schizophrenia, and multiple other brain disorders.

Required Experience: Experience with a programming language similar to MATLAB or R (though most work will be in R), and shell scripting. A basic understanding of statistics including p-values, multiple hypothesis testing, and correlation. A good background in biology and high-throughput sequencing is a major plus.

Possibility of Funding : Yes, particularly if involved over summer or for a longer period.