The 4C-seq technology is one of the current high-throughput methods (“Next Generation Sequencing”, NGS), which, in the interaction between medicine, biology and computer science, allows revolutionary insights into the origin and development of diseases such as cancer. The 4C-seq epigenetic data type makes it possible to study three-dimensional contacts between a point in the genome and the rest of the genome. In contrast to genetic variants, these epigenetic changes are potentially reversible; optimal evaluation using computer science and mathematics methods is also relevant for research into treatment methods. However, evaluating 4C-seq data is not easy. Preliminary work from a long-standing and successful cooperation between the IMI and the Institute for Molecular Tumor Biology (IMTB) at the University Hospital of Münster has shown that existing programs do not always deliver good results for the evaluation of 4C-seq data. The project therefore aims to optimize the technical analysis of the 4C-seq data and to further develop existing approaches to evaluation. Additionally, visualization strategies are designed to provide an overview of the regions found. The finished program will combine the actual algorithm and visualization options with a user-friendly interface, making the project results available to interested users in the fields of bioinformatics or biology or medicine.

Contact: Dr. Carolin Walter, Sophie-Marie Wind, MSc

Project number: WA 112315