My doctoral research in Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian’s lab aims to understand the roles of specific epigenetic features in ageing, cancer, and age-reversing strategies to pave the way for interventions that extend our healthy lifespan.

Specifically, I will work to reveal new age-reversing strategies by exploring the roles of 5-methylcytosine, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, and DNA secondary structures, such as G-quadruplexes, in aging and rejuvenation (induced by transient epigenetic or chemical reprogramming)

DNA secondary structures, such as G-quadruplexes, and chemical modifications to DNA, such as 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, have emerged as key features of genome regulation. However, how these influence ageing and disease remains an open question. To address this knowledge gap, I will pioneer innovative technologies that profile the epigenetic landscape of human cells. First, I will integrate cutting-edge 6-letter sequencing with the latest epigenome profiling methods, such as CUT&Tag, in a single workflow. Current CUT&Tag methodologies present challenges to quantify the number of cells that display a particular epigenetic feature, such as a G-quadruplex, at a specific location and time. Therefore, I aim to develop methodologies to overcome this limitation and enable a deeper biological understanding of the role of genetic and epigenetic features in ageing and disease processes.

Ageing is the biggest risk factor for many common, debilitating, and deadly diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases (Niccoli & Partridge, 2012). A growing body of evidence suggests that improving existing age-reversing strategies is an exceptionally promising strategy to broadly prevent or reverse age-related diseases and decline in health (Zhang et al., 2021). The first age-reversing intervention is scheduled to be on the market by 2030. Transient epigenetic or chemical reprogramming rejuvenates cells, and understanding the underlying mechanism will help us to develop better rejuvenation interventions (Gill et al., 2022, Mitchell et al., 2023). I will explore the role of epigenetic features during age reversal to reveal novel rejuvenation targets that may enable us to do what we love for longer and solve challenges associated with the increasing proportion of older people and diseases.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjornolaisen/