age-related disease? Can we read these molecular annotations from a simple non-invasive test to catch that risk early, before a person ever falls ill? And can we actively rewrite these annotations to improve how stem cells function and age? We work across multiple tissues and stem cell systems to answer these questions, combining laboratory experiments with large-scale data analysis, with the ultimate aim of developing better tools for predicting and preventing age-related disease.
Age-related diseases emerge from the interplay of genetic background and accumulated biological experience. The epigenome, the layer of chemical modifications that regulates gene activity without altering the DNA sequence itself, integrates these signals, encoding the combined influence of genetic variation, environmental exposures, and cellular context into stable yet dynamic molecular patterns. At the same time, epigenetic states actively shape cell fate and tissue function, positioning the epigenome as both a molecular archive of biological history and a regulator of disease risk.
Research focus
The Herzog lab investigates how DNA methylation encodes these signals across diverse tissues and stem cell systems, and how this information can be harnessed to understand age-related disease, improve non-invasive risk prediction, and modulate stem cell function.
Research in the group is organised around three themes:
- Epigenetic memory and cellular ageing: Defining how DNA methylation captures and encodes biological experience, including ageing trajectories, environmental exposures, and cell-intrinsic history, across tissues and stem cells.
- Precision biomarkers of biological vulnerability: Translating epigenetic memory into non-invasive biomarkers that reflect vulnerability, resilience, and disease risk prior to clinical onset.
- Epigenetic regulation of stem cell function: Using experimental perturbation systems to determine whether epigenetic states causally influence stem cell behaviour and the ageing process.
To Apply:
We encourage prospective PhD students to reach out directly to Dr Herzog, ch2151@cam.ac.uk to discuss potential projects and supervision.
Applicants must secure the support of a Supervisor within a laboratory before submitting an application. Please contact the project Supervisor(s) to discuss potential supervision, proposed research project and funding options, which should then be used to write your formal application.
Applications will be submitted to the 'PhD in Stem Cell Biology' and full course details can be found at https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/blscpdscp
Funding Notes
This is not a core-funded PhD programme, and candidates are therefore required to secure their own funding.
Please visit Postgraduate Funding | Cambridge Stem Cell Institute for funding available via the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute.
Funding options should be discussed on an individual basis with the proposed Supervisor before submitting an application.
Applicants are recommended to apply to the University funding scheme by ticking 'Yes - I wish to apply for funding ' in the funding section of the Applicant Portal, by the funding deadline. You will then automatically be considered for any University funding that you are eligible for.
To learn more about how to apply for University funding, please visit Postgraduate funding | Postgraduate Study
