BioE Graduate Seminars

Event Introduction

How the environment influences our epigenetics (and our decisions in life)

Abstract

Epigenetics is the study of the changes that occur on top of the DNA without changing the genome sequence, but still affects the expression of genes and thereby shapes phenotypes. Epigenetic traits, unlike the genome, are configured all along development. They are heritable and can persist across generations. Nonetheless, they are also flexible and reversible. They get influenced by the environment, our dietary habits and life styles. In this presentation, Dr. Solis will talk about some examples in which the environment and our habits affect our epigenetics and how those changes can be measured by mass spectrometry together with proper bioinformatic methods. As a side note, Dr. Solis will provide insights on his career path from academia to entrepreneurship, which he hopes can serve as reference to KAUST students.

About speaker 

Dr. Victor Solis is a bioinformatician and biotechnologist by training. He did his undergraduate studies in Biotechnology in Lima, Peru, after which he moved to Finland to pursue a Master's degree in Bioinformatics in the University of Turku. Upon a successful Master's thesis-internship in the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, Dr. Solis liked the demanding and competitive German graduate educational system and decided to apply for a PhD candidate position at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.Under the graduate school "Quantitative Biosciences Munich", he obtained his doctoral degree in Biochemistry and Bioinformatics. His dissertation title was: "Characterization of Protein Interactions by Mass Spectrometry and Bioinformatics", for which he obtained a "Magna cum laude" score.Since 2012, Dr. Solis has specialized in acquisition and analysis of Proteomics data via Liquid Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry. Lately, his scientific focus is on the epigenetics of histone proteins. He currently serves as co-CEO and CSO of his startup EpiQMAx GmbH, which he co-founded in 2018 in Munich with his partners Dr. Moritz Völker-Albert and Prof. Dr. Axel Imhof. EpiQMAx offers a unique and innovative platform to monitor molecular changes caused by external factors and personal habits on the epigenetics of histone proteins.