Little twists in cell cycle regulation may drive developmental and evolutionary transformations. These changes may lead to the evolutionary growth of a given organ, such as the vertebrate brain. or to the differential growth of cancer cells in a tumor. In this dual perspective, we aim to characterize the cell cycle of neural progenitors by transcriptomics at multiple embryonic stages. We will develop a mathematical model to understand, model and predict the cell cycle features of neural progenitors starting from transcriptomics data. This project will be co-supervised by Dr. Fernando García-Moreno and Dr. Maurizio De Pittà (BCAM and Krembil Research Institute, Canada; computational neuroscience). The ideal candidate has a multidisciplinary mindset  and is capable of interfacing with biologists and data scientists. Knowledge of developmental biology and previous training in bioinformatics and/or mathematical modelling are essential.