University Lecturer in Integrative Human Genomics
Email: dsp35@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1223 761918
ResearchGate | ORCID | PubMed
Background
Dirk graduated with a BSc and MSc in Life Science from the University of Konstanz (Germany) in 2008. During his studies at university, he gained experience in molecular biology and genomics approaches at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (Berlin, Germany), A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering & Nanotechnology (Singapore), Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG (Biberach, Germany) and at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics (Oxford, UK). In 2012, Dirk completed a PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics as a Marie Curie PhD Fellow at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and University of Cambridge, where he applied experimental and computational methods to aid the identification of functional variants associated with blood cell and cardiovascular traits. Following postdoctoral studies in epigenomics of immune-related diseases as part of the BLUEPRINT Consortium at University College London, he joined the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit as University Lecturer in Integrative Human Genomics in 2015.
Research Interests
The goal of the Integrative Human Genomics Team is to identify and validate causal pathways in cardiovascular disease. We use both computational and experimental approaches to uncover molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying the genetic associations with disease. These associations are discovered in population-level studies of genetic variation. We integrate epidemiology, functional genomics, and clinical medicine, to reveal novel insights into the aetiology of cardiovascular disease that can underpin therapeutic advances. Find out more about the Team on our website.
Selected Publications
*joint first author, #joint last author
Ecker E, Chen L, Pancaldi V, Bagger FO, Fernández JM, Carrillo de Santa Pau E, Juan D, Mann AL, […], Rico D#, Valencia A#, Beck S#, Soranzo N# & Paul DS# (2017). Genome-wide analysis of differential transcriptional and epigenetic variability across human immune cell types. Genome Biol. 18(1), 18.
Chen L*, Ge B*, Casale FP*, Vasquez L*, Kwan T, Garrido-Martín D, Watt S, Yang Y, […], Paul DS, Stunnenberg HG, Stegle O, Downes K, Pastinen T# & Soranzo N# (2016). Genetic drivers of epigenetic and transcriptional variation in human immune cells. Cell 167(5), 1398–1414.
Paul DS*, Teschendorff AE*, Dang MA*, Lowe R*, Hawa MI, Ecker S, Beyan H, Cunningham S, […], Rakyan VK#, Beck S# & Leslie RD# (2016). Increased DNA methylation variability in type 1 diabetes across three immune effector cell types. Nature Commun. 7, 13555.
Paul DS, Jones A, Sellar RS, Mayor NP, Feber A, Webster AP, Afonso N, Sergeant R, […], Rakyan VK#, Peggs KS# & Beck S# (2015). A donor-specific epigenetic classifier for acute graft-versus-host disease severity in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Genome Med. 7(1), 128.
Paul DS*, Albers CA*, Rendon A*, Voss K, Stephens J, HaemGen Consortium, van der Harst P, Chambers JC, Soranzo N, Ouwehand WH# & Deloukas P# (2013). Maps of open chromatin highlight cell type-restricted patterns of regulatory sequence variation at hematological trait loci. Genome Res. 23(7), 1130-41.
van der Harst P*, Zhang W*, Mateo Leach I*, Rendon A*, Verweij N*, Sehmi J*, Paul DS*, Elling U*, […], Hicks AA#, Penninger JM#, Gieger C#, Kooner JS#, Ouwehand WH#, Soranzo N# & Chambers JC# (2012). Seventy-five genetic loci influencing the human red blood cell. Nature 492(7429), 369-75.
Albers CA*, Paul DS*, Schulze H*, Freson K, Stephens JC, Smethurst PA, Jolley JD, Cvejic A, […], Newbury-Ecob R#, Ouwehand WH# & Ghevaert C# (2012). Compound inheritance of a low-frequency regulatory SNP and a rare null mutation in exon-junction complex subunit RBM8A causes TAR syndrome. Nature Genet. 44(4), 435-9.
Paul DS, Nisbet JP, Yang TP, Meacham S, Rendon A, Hautaviita K, Tallila J, White J, […], Soranzo N, Ouwehand WH & Deloukas P (2011). Maps of open chromatin guide the functional follow-up of genome-wide association signals: application to hematological traits. PLOS Genet. 7(6), e1002139.