Platform
EpiMed
Medical Epigenetics and Bioinformatics
Presentation
The EpiMed platform's activities are aimed at linking fundamental research in the field of epigenetics with translational medical research, especially in the areas of cancer and chronic diseases. Its expertise is based on the development of bioinformatics and machine learning approaches to analyze large volumes of molecular data, such as omics data (gene expression data from high-throughput sequencing, single cell data, methylation data, proteome, ChIP-Seq, etc.), with the goal of addressing concrete scientific questions posed by medical doctors and researchers.
The EpiMed group brings together bioinformatics experts, biologists and medical professionals. It has developed numerous national and international collaborations, for example with biomedical teams at the CHU of Grenoble Alpes (France) and Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai (China). EpiMed is leading several research projects dedicated to the discovery of new prognostic biomarkers in cancers, exploring the functional significance of histone modifications, and understanding the links between epigenetic dysregulations, metabolism, and cancer.
Managers
Saadi KHOCHBIN
Team leader, Platform manager
Sophie ROUSSEAUX-PISON
Platform manager, Inserm / DR2
Centers of expertise
The EpiMed group conducts research projects aimed at identifying new prognostic biomarkers in various types of cancers. This axis explores the phenomenon of out-of-context expression of specific tissue genes, which represents a novel source of potential biomarkers. To achieve this goal, EpiMed develops innovative machine learning approaches that enable the definition of robust, effective, and reproducible biomarkers across a large number of cohorts.
This research axis of EpiMed involves exploring, through in silico approaches, the link between metabolism and epigenetic regulations, and the role of this link in the oncogenic process.
EpiMed develops bioinformatics and biostatistical tools for omics data analysis dedicated to research projects (epimedtools, ectopy). EpiMed also designs information systems for the management of genomic and bio-clinical data, as well as interoperable databases (EpiMed Database).
EpiMed contributes to teaching in statistics and artificial intelligence at the Université Grenoble Alpes and at the IAB. Some of these courses are publicly available (EpiMed Open Course).