We are a computational biology lab in Toronto, Canada studying gene regulation in development, disease, and therapeutic applications.
Waddington's view of the epigenetic landscape from below, with pegs and wires (genes and regulatory interactions) that shape the cell fate landscape. We add a snapped wire representing a disrupted interaction, and a new wire representing a therapeutic intervention.
Our interpretation of an interpretable machine learning model, with internal mechanisms exposed.
News
Selin contributed a short Journal Club piece to Nature Reviews Genetics on the landmark transchromosomic experiment by Wilson et al, 2008, demonstrating the role of cis sequence over the trans cell environment in determining gene regulation. A great chance to reflect on how sequence-to-function modeling can address this question!
Rotation 1 has passed in a whirlwind, we had a blast at the Molecular Genetics departmental retreat, and this week we welcome Tazmeen Gill, Ron Solan, and Laeticia Liawas to the lab for Rotation 2. Each of them is exploring a new direction in sequence-to-function modeling.
We’re excited to welcome to our team Shirley Hu, Administrative Assistant, and Angela Xu, our very first MoGen rotation student!
Selin is appointed an Assistant Professor affiliated with the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto! That means we are officially recruiting graduate students through MoGen. MSc and PhD students interested in the lab should contact Selin to chat about rotation opportunities.
Dr. Selin Jessa joins the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute and Sinai Health in Toronto, Canada as an Investigator! The Jessa Lab is getting ready to launch on September 1st, 2026. Stay tuned for site updates for more details on our vision and values.