We investigate how epigenetic complexes and chromatin states influence and control gene expression in plants. Plants, as sessile organisms, are more likely than mobile organisms to be repeatedly exposed to similar environmental perturbations throughout their lives. The generation of stable changes in gene expression as a result of epigenetic marks (DNA methylation and histone modifications) is a quick and relatively long-lasting method of establishing a genomic memory of past stress events.

Influenza viruses and coronaviruses are respiratory pathogens with drastic health and economic consequences for many animal species, including humans. Seasonal Influenza viruses produce severe infections in 3-5 million people and around 500.000 deaths annually. In addition, sporadically these viruses produce pandemics of unpredictable consequences.

The lab is interested in understanding functional aspects of gene expression at the genome-wide level, across different organisms and in relation to pathological processes. The group has developed statistical methods and software tools that analyze the dynamics aspects transcriptomes, integrate these with other types of molecular data and annotate them functionally, with a special focus on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) data.