Pedro Rocha
@pedroprocha.bsky.social
Tenure-Tracking @ NICHD_NIH
#gene_regulation #nuclear_organization #development | handkerchief user | views are mine alone, probably for the best
rochalab.nichd.nih.gov
#gene_regulation #nuclear_organization #development | handkerchief user | views are mine alone, probably for the best
rochalab.nichd.nih.gov
Pinned
Pedro Rocha
@pedroprocha.bsky.social
· Jul 21
It had been 18 years since i last "commissioned" my college buddy @pedromics.bsky.social Our paper showing dramatic phenotypes upon loss of a single CTCF motif gave us the best excuse to do it again. We recruited MC hammer to deliver the main message: U Can't Touch This!
tinyurl.com/4rz8kusj
tinyurl.com/4rz8kusj
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
We recently reported that promoter competition can contribute to the robust insulation of gene regulatory domains (www.nature.com/articles/s41...).
We now offer a 4-years PhD contract to investigate whether the dirsuption of this regulatory mechanism can lead to congenital defects. More details 👇
We now offer a 4-years PhD contract to investigate whether the dirsuption of this regulatory mechanism can lead to congenital defects. More details 👇
November 6, 2025 at 6:37 PM
We recently reported that promoter competition can contribute to the robust insulation of gene regulatory domains (www.nature.com/articles/s41...).
We now offer a 4-years PhD contract to investigate whether the dirsuption of this regulatory mechanism can lead to congenital defects. More details 👇
We now offer a 4-years PhD contract to investigate whether the dirsuption of this regulatory mechanism can lead to congenital defects. More details 👇
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Our latest paper has just been published in Cell!
doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
We developed a new method called MCC ultra, which allows 3D chromatin structure to be visualised with a 1 base pair pixel size.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
We developed a new method called MCC ultra, which allows 3D chromatin structure to be visualised with a 1 base pair pixel size.
November 5, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Our latest paper has just been published in Cell!
doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
We developed a new method called MCC ultra, which allows 3D chromatin structure to be visualised with a 1 base pair pixel size.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
We developed a new method called MCC ultra, which allows 3D chromatin structure to be visualised with a 1 base pair pixel size.
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Having a lot of fun at #EMBOMobileGenome 😃
Perfect timing for our paper from the lab of @toddmacfarlan.bsky.social to be out @natcomms.nature.com!!
…and I’m currently on the job market looking for a new scientific home!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Perfect timing for our paper from the lab of @toddmacfarlan.bsky.social to be out @natcomms.nature.com!!
…and I’m currently on the job market looking for a new scientific home!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Young KRAB-zinc finger gene clusters are highly dynamic incubators of ERV-driven genetic heterogeneity in mice - Nature Communications
KRAB-zinc finger proteins repress retrotransposons and rapidly evolve in mammals. Here, the authors show that ERV insertions drive the emergence and diversification of new KZFP genes in mice, revealin...
www.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Having a lot of fun at #EMBOMobileGenome 😃
Perfect timing for our paper from the lab of @toddmacfarlan.bsky.social to be out @natcomms.nature.com!!
…and I’m currently on the job market looking for a new scientific home!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Perfect timing for our paper from the lab of @toddmacfarlan.bsky.social to be out @natcomms.nature.com!!
…and I’m currently on the job market looking for a new scientific home!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Really excited to see this out in the open: www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/1/...! @isabellavoelkl.bsky.social explored and compared different in vitro developmental model systems to study ciliogenesis.
In vitro approaches to study centriole and cilium function in early mouse embryogenesis
Although centrioles and primary cilia play an essential role in early mammalian development, their specific function during the interval between their initial formation and the subsequent arrest of em...
www.life-science-alliance.org
October 30, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Really excited to see this out in the open: www.life-science-alliance.org/content/9/1/...! @isabellavoelkl.bsky.social explored and compared different in vitro developmental model systems to study ciliogenesis.
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Spread the word! There is a professor position opening at our University @upcite.bsky.social. There are several possible (great) labs to join, but if you are interested in DNA methylation and epigenetics in mammals, don't hesitate to contact me directly!
#JobOffer
💼 Un poste susceptible d’être vacant de Professeur en stabilité des génomes devrait s’ouvrir pour la rentrée 2026 au sein de l’Institut Jacques Monod
➡️ Informations concernant ce poste et la procédure de candidature 🔗 www.ijm.fr/poste-de-pro...
💼 Un poste susceptible d’être vacant de Professeur en stabilité des génomes devrait s’ouvrir pour la rentrée 2026 au sein de l’Institut Jacques Monod
➡️ Informations concernant ce poste et la procédure de candidature 🔗 www.ijm.fr/poste-de-pro...
October 28, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Spread the word! There is a professor position opening at our University @upcite.bsky.social. There are several possible (great) labs to join, but if you are interested in DNA methylation and epigenetics in mammals, don't hesitate to contact me directly!
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Federal worker here.
October 27, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Federal worker here.
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Happy to share our latest publication, in which we show that the arrangement of nucleosomes around CTCF sites contributes to higher-order organisation of chromatin into TADs: www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
October 27, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Happy to share our latest publication, in which we show that the arrangement of nucleosomes around CTCF sites contributes to higher-order organisation of chromatin into TADs: www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Our collab w. V Goel, @nicholas-aboreden.bsky.social , J Jusuf, G Blobel, L Mirny, @irate-physicist.bsky.social out in @natsmb.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Was co-submitted with @allanaschooley.bsky.social @jobdekker.bsky.social whose paper should also come out soon
Brief thread 👇
Was co-submitted with @allanaschooley.bsky.social @jobdekker.bsky.social whose paper should also come out soon
Brief thread 👇
October 20, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Our collab w. V Goel, @nicholas-aboreden.bsky.social , J Jusuf, G Blobel, L Mirny, @irate-physicist.bsky.social out in @natsmb.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Was co-submitted with @allanaschooley.bsky.social @jobdekker.bsky.social whose paper should also come out soon
Brief thread 👇
Was co-submitted with @allanaschooley.bsky.social @jobdekker.bsky.social whose paper should also come out soon
Brief thread 👇
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
What is a promoter? And how does it work?
We very happy to share our latest work trying to understand enhancer-promoter compatibility.
I am very excited about the results of @blanka-majchrzycka.bsky.social, which changed the way I think about promoters
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We very happy to share our latest work trying to understand enhancer-promoter compatibility.
I am very excited about the results of @blanka-majchrzycka.bsky.social, which changed the way I think about promoters
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Enhancer-promoter compatibility is mediated by the promoter-proximal region
Gene promoters induce transcription in response to distal enhancers. How enhancers specifically activate their target promoter while bypassing other promoters remains unclear. Here, we find that the p...
www.biorxiv.org
October 16, 2025 at 3:06 PM
What is a promoter? And how does it work?
We very happy to share our latest work trying to understand enhancer-promoter compatibility.
I am very excited about the results of @blanka-majchrzycka.bsky.social, which changed the way I think about promoters
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We very happy to share our latest work trying to understand enhancer-promoter compatibility.
I am very excited about the results of @blanka-majchrzycka.bsky.social, which changed the way I think about promoters
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Ever wondered what drives enhancer-promoter specificity? Why would an enhancer activate one gene rather than another neighboring one?
Check our latest preprint, led by @mmasoura.bsky.social, to find out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Check our latest preprint, led by @mmasoura.bsky.social, to find out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Promoter-proximal gatekeepers restrict pleiotropic enhancer inputs to achieve tissue specificity
Developmental enhancers are central regulatory elements that can activate multiple genes, yet how they selectively regulate one gene over its neighbours remains unclear. Using the Drosophila twist E3 ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 16, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Ever wondered what drives enhancer-promoter specificity? Why would an enhancer activate one gene rather than another neighboring one?
Check our latest preprint, led by @mmasoura.bsky.social, to find out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Check our latest preprint, led by @mmasoura.bsky.social, to find out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
If you’re interested in exploring the relationship between chromatin organization and epigenetic memory using chromatin tracing microscopy, my group is recruiting a talented PhD student 🥳
🚨 Please share! We are seeking motivated PhD students who wish to work at the intersection of molecular life sciences and computational sciences.
#IMPRS #IMPRSBAC @freieuniversitaet.bsky.social @maxplanck.de
Check out our projects and apply by Jan 7th, 2026!
www.molgen.mpg.de/IMPRSPhDproj...
#IMPRS #IMPRSBAC @freieuniversitaet.bsky.social @maxplanck.de
Check out our projects and apply by Jan 7th, 2026!
www.molgen.mpg.de/IMPRSPhDproj...
October 8, 2025 at 5:05 PM
If you’re interested in exploring the relationship between chromatin organization and epigenetic memory using chromatin tracing microscopy, my group is recruiting a talented PhD student 🥳
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Many enhancers that drive tissue-specific gene expression are already connected to gene promoters in human pluripotent cells.
In a new preprint, we share some clues about when, how, and why this happens!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
In a new preprint, we share some clues about when, how, and why this happens!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Poising and connectivity of emergent human developmental enhancers in the transition from naive to primed pluripotency
In primed human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) resembling post-implantation epiblast, numerous lineage-specific enhancers assume the poised chromatin state, co-marked by H3K4me1 and Polycomb-associate...
www.biorxiv.org
October 3, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Many enhancers that drive tissue-specific gene expression are already connected to gene promoters in human pluripotent cells.
In a new preprint, we share some clues about when, how, and why this happens!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
In a new preprint, we share some clues about when, how, and why this happens!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
New preprint from the lab !! Loop extrusion may provide mechanical robustness to chromatin. Great work by Hossein Salari. @cnrs.fr @lbmcinlyon.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Loop extrusion provides mechanical robustness to chromatin
Chromosomes are complex biopolymers folded into dynamic loops via a loop extrusion process and may experience various mechanical forces in vivo . We develop a force-dependent model of chromatin loop e...
www.biorxiv.org
September 29, 2025 at 1:24 PM
New preprint from the lab !! Loop extrusion may provide mechanical robustness to chromatin. Great work by Hossein Salari. @cnrs.fr @lbmcinlyon.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Interested in morphogens and how they can robustly specifiy different cell types with single-cell resolution?
Check out this preprint combining experiments and modelling by our colleagues and partners in crime @ucl-cdb.bsky.social:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Check out this preprint combining experiments and modelling by our colleagues and partners in crime @ucl-cdb.bsky.social:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Morphogen and juxtacrine signalling dynamically integrate to specify cell fates with single-cell resolution
Morphogen gradients guide tissue patterning but do not act in isolation. How they integrate with other signalling modalities, like juxtacrine signalling, and how these integrations influence pattern r...
www.biorxiv.org
September 25, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Interested in morphogens and how they can robustly specifiy different cell types with single-cell resolution?
Check out this preprint combining experiments and modelling by our colleagues and partners in crime @ucl-cdb.bsky.social:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Check out this preprint combining experiments and modelling by our colleagues and partners in crime @ucl-cdb.bsky.social:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
🚨Please share! We are hiring a post-doc! 🪱 🐀
Job posting: www.training.nih.gov/jobs/pdf-gb-...
Lab Website: www.niddk.nih.gov/research-fun...
NIH Trainee info: www.training.nih.gov
Job posting: www.training.nih.gov/jobs/pdf-gb-...
Lab Website: www.niddk.nih.gov/research-fun...
NIH Trainee info: www.training.nih.gov
September 24, 2025 at 7:25 PM
🚨Please share! We are hiring a post-doc! 🪱 🐀
Job posting: www.training.nih.gov/jobs/pdf-gb-...
Lab Website: www.niddk.nih.gov/research-fun...
NIH Trainee info: www.training.nih.gov
Job posting: www.training.nih.gov/jobs/pdf-gb-...
Lab Website: www.niddk.nih.gov/research-fun...
NIH Trainee info: www.training.nih.gov
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Really excited to share our latest work led by @mattiaubertini.bsky.social and @nesslfy.bsky.social: we report that cohesin loop extrusion creates rare but long-lived encounters between genomic sequences which underlie efficient enhancer-promoter communication.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A🧵👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A🧵👇
September 24, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Really excited to share our latest work led by @mattiaubertini.bsky.social and @nesslfy.bsky.social: we report that cohesin loop extrusion creates rare but long-lived encounters between genomic sequences which underlie efficient enhancer-promoter communication.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A🧵👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A🧵👇
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Some (+)ve news to lighten another heavy weekend: our latest preprint (c/o Mattiroli + Ramani labs) is up!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A tour-de-force by 1st authors Bruna Eckhardt & @palindromephd.bsky.social, focusing on chromatin replication. RTs welcome; tweetorial in 3,2...(1/n)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A tour-de-force by 1st authors Bruna Eckhardt & @palindromephd.bsky.social, focusing on chromatin replication. RTs welcome; tweetorial in 3,2...(1/n)
The eukaryotic replisome intrinsically generates asymmetric daughter chromatin fibers
DNA replication is molecularly asymmetric, due to distinct mechanisms for lagging and leading strand DNA synthesis. Whether chromatin assembly on newly replicated strands is also asymmetric remains un...
www.biorxiv.org
September 20, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Some (+)ve news to lighten another heavy weekend: our latest preprint (c/o Mattiroli + Ramani labs) is up!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A tour-de-force by 1st authors Bruna Eckhardt & @palindromephd.bsky.social, focusing on chromatin replication. RTs welcome; tweetorial in 3,2...(1/n)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A tour-de-force by 1st authors Bruna Eckhardt & @palindromephd.bsky.social, focusing on chromatin replication. RTs welcome; tweetorial in 3,2...(1/n)
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
My lab @mpi-muenster.bsky.social is looking for a computational biologist with a passion for imaging and spatial biology. A staff scientist position with long-term perspective! Apply and spread the word 🙏 jobs.mpi-muenster.mpg.de/jobposting/0...
Computational image analyst (m/f/d)
The Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster, Germany, has an opening for a
jobs.mpi-muenster.mpg.de
September 12, 2025 at 6:17 AM
My lab @mpi-muenster.bsky.social is looking for a computational biologist with a passion for imaging and spatial biology. A staff scientist position with long-term perspective! Apply and spread the word 🙏 jobs.mpi-muenster.mpg.de/jobposting/0...
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
In our latest preprinted work, Yajie and Kostas combine computational analysis with precision KO of single variant U1 snRNA genes in human iPSCs to find pronounced deregulation of both gene expression and splicing that seem to affect the cell cycle and the differentiation potency of stem cells. 1/n
September 16, 2025 at 8:33 AM
In our latest preprinted work, Yajie and Kostas combine computational analysis with precision KO of single variant U1 snRNA genes in human iPSCs to find pronounced deregulation of both gene expression and splicing that seem to affect the cell cycle and the differentiation potency of stem cells. 1/n
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Very excited to share an excellent review from @teresa-urli.bsky.social, published one week before her PhD defense! We did a deep dive into the fascinating biology of the variant Polycomb complex, PRC1.6 (1/5) journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...
Epigenetic relay: Polycomb-directed DNA methylation in mammalian development
In mammals, repression of germline-specific gene expression is essential for preserving somatic cell identity and preventing disease. Germline gene silencing is often dependent on the presence of prom...
journals.plos.org
September 15, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Very excited to share an excellent review from @teresa-urli.bsky.social, published one week before her PhD defense! We did a deep dive into the fascinating biology of the variant Polycomb complex, PRC1.6 (1/5) journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Mathematical modelling of the first fate decision
This Research Highlight showcases the work from Maria Avdeeva, Madeleine Chalifoux, Bradley Joyce, Stanislav Y. Shvartsman, Eszter Posfai @eposfai.bsky.social :
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
This Research Highlight showcases the work from Maria Avdeeva, Madeleine Chalifoux, Bradley Joyce, Stanislav Y. Shvartsman, Eszter Posfai @eposfai.bsky.social :
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
September 10, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Mathematical modelling of the first fate decision
This Research Highlight showcases the work from Maria Avdeeva, Madeleine Chalifoux, Bradley Joyce, Stanislav Y. Shvartsman, Eszter Posfai @eposfai.bsky.social :
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
This Research Highlight showcases the work from Maria Avdeeva, Madeleine Chalifoux, Bradley Joyce, Stanislav Y. Shvartsman, Eszter Posfai @eposfai.bsky.social :
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
🚨🚨🚨 Please repost
We are looking for postdocs to join our lab at NIH.
Apply:
www.nichd.nih.gov/research/atNICHD/Investigators/rocha/apply
Learn more about training at NIH :
www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
We are looking for postdocs to join our lab at NIH.
Apply:
www.nichd.nih.gov/research/atNICHD/Investigators/rocha/apply
Learn more about training at NIH :
www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
September 8, 2025 at 3:15 PM
🚨🚨🚨 Please repost
We are looking for postdocs to join our lab at NIH.
Apply:
www.nichd.nih.gov/research/atNICHD/Investigators/rocha/apply
Learn more about training at NIH :
www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
We are looking for postdocs to join our lab at NIH.
Apply:
www.nichd.nih.gov/research/atNICHD/Investigators/rocha/apply
Learn more about training at NIH :
www.training.nih.gov/research-tra...
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
📢 New in @ImmunityCP: We have mapped the transcription factor “routes” that program two dendritic cell subsets opening paths for personalized #cancer #immunotherapy. Read it here: doi.org/10.1016/j.im...
Here is a summary of what we discovered 🧵:
Illustration by @azuravesta.bsky.social
Here is a summary of what we discovered 🧵:
Illustration by @azuravesta.bsky.social
August 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
📢 New in @ImmunityCP: We have mapped the transcription factor “routes” that program two dendritic cell subsets opening paths for personalized #cancer #immunotherapy. Read it here: doi.org/10.1016/j.im...
Here is a summary of what we discovered 🧵:
Illustration by @azuravesta.bsky.social
Here is a summary of what we discovered 🧵:
Illustration by @azuravesta.bsky.social
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
Excited to share the first paper from the lab! 🥳 The ATG9 and lipid droplets saga continues! Open source!
Liver-specific loss of Atg9a perturbs lipid metabolism and hepatocyte integrity
The autophagy-related protein ATG9A is integral to cellular autophagy and lipid mobilization, yet its importance in mammalian physiology remains underexplored. Using a liver-specific conditional At...
doi.org
September 3, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Excited to share the first paper from the lab! 🥳 The ATG9 and lipid droplets saga continues! Open source!
Reposted by Pedro Rocha
I'm really happy to announce that my two main postdoctoral works have been published in the same issue of Developmental Cell! First, the final form of the mouse cortical organoid protocol (tinyurl.com/bddfmx8n), which I recently presented at Development presents (tinyurl.com/36udcpme) and…
tinyurl.com
August 27, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I'm really happy to announce that my two main postdoctoral works have been published in the same issue of Developmental Cell! First, the final form of the mouse cortical organoid protocol (tinyurl.com/bddfmx8n), which I recently presented at Development presents (tinyurl.com/36udcpme) and…