Matjaž received his PhD in Molecular Biology from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and did his graduate work and postdoctoral training on controlling Pol II elongation with 7SK snRNP and P-TEFb with B. Matija Peterlin at University of California, San Francisco, USA. Read more on his work
E-mail:
Doctoral Programme in Integrative Life Science
Monika received her Master's degree in Biotechnology from the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. Her work on engineering yeasts for production of high value chemicals brought her to study transcription and gene regulation. Her current research focuses on combinatorial targeting of transcriptional CDKs in cancer and the significance of RNA Pol II elongation factor for SARS-CoV-2 replication. When she is not weighing which mistery to solve in the lab, she can be spotted lifting weights in the gym.
E-mail:
Tina received her PhD in Molecular Biology from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and did her postdoctoral training on the transcriptional form of HIV-1 latency with B. Matija Peterlin at University of California, San Francisco, USA. Her research focuses on understanding how local topology of Pol II transcription machinery couples gene transcription with maturation of nascent RNA. In her free time, she practices atheism.
E-mail:
iCANDOC Doctoral Education Pilot in Precision Cancer Medicine
Yuqing received her Master’s degree in Biology and Medicine from Huazhong Agricultural University in China, where she studied interactions between viral genomes and host proteins. She is now exploring transcriptional CDKs, aiming to identify new biomarkers and vulnerabilities that could lead to improved therapeutic options in triple-negative breast cancer.
E-mail:
Programme in Biomedicine
Houqing earned his Master's degree in Pharmacology from Peking University in China, where his research on circadian rhythm gene and resistance in lung cancer further sparked a deep interest in investigating gene regulation. His current research focuses on mechanisms by which transcriptional kinases regulate gene expression and how this new knowledge could be exploited for combinatorial targeting of transcriptional CDKs in cancer. When he isn't immersed in the complexities in the lab, he can be found lifting heavy at the gym, hiking scenic trails, or heading off as a backpacker to discover new destinations.
E-mail:
Nicholas completed his PhD investigating transcriptional regulation in cardiovascular disease at the University of Eastern Finland, before beginning postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Diego. His research focuses on the interplay between the transcription cycle, cis-regulatory elements, and three-dimensional chromatin organisation, applying high-throughput approaches including ChIP-seq, steady-state and nascent RNA-seq, in addition to CRISPR-based perturbation and single-cell methods. He is particularly interested in the mechanisms governing enhancer-promoter communication and gene regulation by transcriptional CDKs, and how disease-relevant disruptions to these regulatory circuits drive transcriptional state changes, with implications for cancer evolution, plasticity and cellular reprogramming.
E-mail:
Programme in Biomedicine
E-mail: