Your DNA is basically a three billion long sequence of the letters A,C,G and T, and this sequence was roughly determined for humans ten years ago. As the physical DNA molecule would be around a meter if stretched out, it needs to be folded together to fit inside a cell. On the other hand, DNA is of course not just stored passively for later generations, but is continually in use. Thus, it cannot just be packed together arbitrarily. Instead, a complex and as of yet poorly understood organization allows DNA to fold in a compact way that still allows it to be accessible when needed. Furthermore, this seems to be part of a very sophisticated system that controls what parts of the DNA should be accessible at what time, in which cells, and under which circumstances. Recent developments allow the three-dimensional structure of DNA to be studied at steadily increasing resolution, thus paving the way for insights on how the time-varying structure of DNA influences its function.
The task is to discuss and develop computational methods for analyzing aspects of DNA related to its three-dimensional structure. Our group has a strong competence in the analysis of genomic data when DNA is viewed as a linear sequence and we have recently started looking how to expand the analysis scenarios from one to three dimensions. This means it is possible to be part of a collaborative effort in this direction.
Students should be skilled in programming. An interest for biology and mathematics in general could be an advantage.