Fossils of Ancient Chromosomes - Erez Lieberman Aiden

Erez Lieberman Aiden is an applied mathematician and a molecular biologist. He received his PhD from Harvard and MIT in 2010, and spent several years at Harvard's Society of Fellows and at Google as Visiting Faculty before moving to the Baylor College of Medicine, where he is now an Associate Professor. His laboratory’s primary emphasis is on exploring the three dimensional structure of the human genome. Much of the lab’s work centers on the experimental interrogation of genome folding and structure via molecular biology and microscopy.
Dr. Aiden conceived of the Hi-C protocol, hybridizing DNA proximity ligation and sequencing in order to comprehensively map long-range genomic interactions. He built the team that created the first 3D map of the human genome and led all aspects of the resulting data analysis. His lab has since developed in situ and intact Hi-C, in which proximity ligation is performed in intact nuclei. Using these methods, Dr. Aiden published the first kilobase resolution contact maps of the human genome and the first reliable genome-wide annotation of chromatin loops. This work led to the proposal that loops in the human genome form by a process of extrusion. He also published the first reliable methods for assembling Human Genome Project quality de novo genome assemblies created only from short Illumina reads, enabling the generation of mammalian genomes from scratch for under $1,000. This also made it possible to generate genomes of extraordinary quality by combining Hi-C and long reads, an approach which has become widespread. Today, Hi-C is a key component of most genome projects. More recently his group has shown that this approach can be used to assemble the genomes of ancient species, such as the woolly mammoth, for the first time.
Dr. Aiden's research has won numerous awards, including recognition for one of the top 20 "Biotech Breakthroughs that will Change Medicine", by Popular Mechanics, membership in Technology Review's 2009 TR35, recognizing the top 35 innovators under 35; and in Cell's 2014 40 Under 40. In 2012, he received the President's Early Career Award in Science and Engineering, the highest government honor for young scientists, and his laboratory has since been recognized on the floor of the US House of Representatives for its discoveries about the structure of DNA.
The Monthly Seminar on Physical Genomics is a public lecture series sponsored by the Center for Physical Genomics at Northwestern University, the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, and NIH Grants T32GM142604 and U54CA268084. CPGE's archive of public seminars, lectures and workshops can be found at:
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