Welcome

The Noonan Lab

Exploring the genetic origins of human biological uniqueness

What makes us human? Our capacities for invention, language and abstract thought set us apart from all other living things. With the sequencing of the human genome and the genomes of our closest primate relatives, locating the origins of such uniquely human characteristics has become a tractable genetic problem.

Many human traits are based on anatomical changes, including increased brain size and changes in the morphology of the limbs, that evolved due to genetic changes in development. Our laboratory uses a combination of computational and in vivo experimental approaches to study human-specific changes in developmental gene regulation. We are pursuing an integrated strategy that synthesizes maps of human-specific accelerated evolution in noncoding DNAs, in vivo analysis of cis-regulatory elements, and functional genomic atlases of human development to reveal the genetic basis of unique human biology.

Postdoctoral Position Available

We are recruiting a Postdoctoral Associate to study tissue-specific binding patterns of chromatin modifiers and transcription factors in the developing human brain. This work is part of our overall effort to understand the role of gene regulatory change in human evolution and neurocognitive disease. Applicants must have prior experience with ChIP-chip or ChIP-seq techniques, as well as a Ph.D. in Biology, Biochemistry or a related field.

Interested candidates should send their CV and references to Jim Noonan at noonanlab@gmail.com. Please include the phrase Postdoctoral position in the Noonan lab in the subject line.

NEWS

Our paper on genome-wide discovery and characterization of developmental enhancers published in Genome Research:

Cotney J, Leng J, Oh S, DeMare LE, Reilly SK, Gerstein MB, Noonan JP. Chromatin state signatures associated with tissue-specific gene expression and enhancer activity in the embryonic limb. Genome Res epub March 15 2012. Data: GSE30641

Our collaborative work with Albert Ayoub and Pasko Rakic on transcriptional profiling in the embryonic cortex published in PNAS:

Ayoub AE, Oh S, Xie Y, Leng J, Cotney J, Dominguez MH, Noonan JP, Rakic P. Transcriptional programs in transient embryonic zones of the cerebral cortex defined by high-resolution mRNA sequencing. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:14950-5 (2011). Data: GSE30765

Jim was profiled in GenomeWeb’s 6th Annual Young Investigators feature

http://www.genomeweb.com/sixth-annual-young-investigators

Video and Radio:

“The Genetics of Humanness”

http://carta.anthropogeny.org/events/sessions/uniquely-human-gene-regulation

NOVA: What Darwin Never Knew

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beta/evolution/darwin-never-knew.html