Innovation arises at the interface of different areas of science. We specialize in the interface between neurosciences, immunology and metabolic research on one side and genomics and bioinformatics on the other side. High-throughput sequencing down to single-cell resolution plays a pivotal role in our research at the Platform for Single Cell Genomics and Epigenomics at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn.
Our research comprises both, lab-based experimental approaches as well as computer-based analyses. We are thus in an excellent position to address questions of systems biological nature. However, our expert knowledge is also applied to assist collaborators in neurobiological and immunological research at the DZNE and worldwide.
- Systems biological approaches for improved characterization of immune cells and the regulation of immune cells and neurocytes
- Single-cell RNA-Seq for enhanced functional characterization of immune cells and neurocytes
- Understanding neuronal heterogeneity at a single-cell level across species in health and disease (Human Brain Project)
- Genetic and epigenetic reprogramming of immune cells during aging and in age related diseases, e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease (AMPro - Aging and Metabolic Programming)
- Nervous-immune system interactions (Immunosensation2 – Cluster of Excellence)
- Genomics of blood and discovery of biomarkers
- Development and application of bioinformatics and computational biology based approaches to improve our understanding of regulation in immune cells
- New approaches to handle large, zero-inflated/sparse data sets as generated by single-cell sequencing (Sparse2Big)
- Additionally, we work on adapting existing genomics applications to novel computational architectures (memory-driven computing)
Our research group is also involved in a variety of national and international research initiatives:
And serves as a counselling and overflow management entity in the West German Genome Center (WGGC)
Memory-driven computing is a paradigm shift, that puts memory at the center of the compute infrastructure to support todays data-driven applications. System components are connected through a fabric, Gen-Z.
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The "Platform for Single Cell Genomics and Epigenomics" is a joint Venture between the University of Bonn and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). Both institutions seek to conjointly increase their expert knowledge in the areas of genomics and bioinformatics. Particular focus lies on the development and application of tools and technologies for single-cell genomics and on providing these technologies for internal and external collaborators.
The laboratory space of the platform is situated in the new DZNE building B, the bioinformatics unit is located at the LIMES Institute. Both units are closely collaborating.
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