Cancer Epigenetics Lab

Targeting the epigenome in cancer | Prof Mark Dawson

The concepts, challenges and opportunities for targeting the epigenome in cancer

Identifying MHC-II regulators that enable immune escape in acute myeloid leukaemia

Relapse of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) following allogeneic stem cell transplantation confers a dismal prognosis and is linked to MHC-II silencing on leukaemic blasts. We identify novel, non-genomic MHC-II regulators in AML and demonstrate the potential therapeutic utility of targeting these repressive mechanisms to upregulate MHC-II expression and restore graft-versus-leukaemia responses.

Developing new systems to uncover how transcription factors activate their target genes

How transcription factors activate their target genes remains poorly understood. We have developed a screening system to create a map of the proteins required for activation by a series of transcription factors, providing the first unbiased and comprehensive picture into the specificity and heterogeneity of gene activation.