Eran Segal
My research focuses on developing computational models aimed at
understanding how molecular components interact to carry out complex
biological functions. To achieve this goal, we integrate heterogeneous types
of genomic data into unified statistical models, based on the language of
probabilistic graphical models.
Our current research is focused on three main areas: (1) Transcriptional control: nearly all biological processes depend on the establishment of complex patterns of coordinated gene activity (transcription). The instructions for establishing such expression patterns are encoded in the DNA sequence, and our research aims at developing models that explain how this information is encoded in the DNA, by integrating data on transcription factors, DNA sequences, transcription degradation, binding competition and synergy; (2) Translational control: Recently, a new class of genes with important roles in controlling the translation of proteins has been discovered. These genes, termed microRNAs, are short (~22 nucleotide) non-coding RNAs, and our research aims at developing mechanistic models that would help us to better understand the properties by which microRNAs recognize their target mRNA genes; (3) Chromatin structure: In addition to gene-specific regulatory signals, cells must also control the detailed molecular structure of the DNA within the nucleus, since eukaryotic DNA does not exist as a naked molecule but rather is highly compacted, into repeated protein-DNA nucleosome complexes, collectively known as chromatin. We are developing sequence-based quantitative models that explain how nucleosomes get positioned on genomes and how they affect transcription.
Recent Publications
- [with M. Shapira, A. Regev, D. Pe'er, D. Botstein, D. Koller and N. Friedman] Module networks: Identifying regulatory modules and their condition specific regulators from gene expression data. Nature Genetics, 2003.
- [with Y. Fondufe-Mittendorf, L. Chen, A. Thastrom, Y. Field, I.K. Moore, J.Z. Wang, J. Widom] A Genomic Code for Nucleosome Positioning. Nature, 2006. The New York Times, 2006.
- [with M. Kertesz, N. Iovino, U. Unnerstall, U. Gaul] The role of site accessibility in microRNA target recognition. Nature Genetics, 2007.
- [with T. Sadka, M. Schroeder, U. Unnerstall, U. Gaul] Predicting expression patterns from regulatory sequence in Drosophila segmentation. Nature, 2008.