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Amali Cooray – Blood Cells & Blood Cancer division

25/10/2024 2:00 pm - 25/10/2024 3:00 pm
Location
Davis Auditorium

WEHI PhD Completion Seminar hosted by Professor Marco Herold

Amali Cooray

PhD Student – Herold Laboratory, Blood Cells & Blood Cancer division – Cancer Research & Treatments Theme, WEHI

 

Investigating the role of mutant DNMT3A in hematologic malignancies

 

Davis Auditorium

Join via SLIDO enter code #WEHIphdcompletion

Including Q&A session

Followed by refreshments in Tapestry Lounge

 

 

 

DNMT3A is a key epigenetic regulator, responsible for de novo methylation of DNA. It has also been identified as the founding mutation in many leukemias and lymphomas. Interestingly, despite decades of research, it is still unclear how DNMT3A contributes to tumorigenesis in hematologic malignancy.

 

To investigate the impact of this mutation, a murine model that carries one of the most frequently found hotspot mutations in DNMT3A was generated, and found to be physiologically comparable to the human condition. During Amali’s PhD, she assessed DNMT3A mutant haematopoietic stem and progenitor cell populations for phenotypic aberrations. In addition, she used in vivo CRISPR activation screens to identify tumorigenic genes in the DNMT3A mutant context. Amali further conducted parallel analyses of sequencing datasets in order to interrogate the epigenetic and transcriptomic consequences of this mutation on haematopoietic cells. In this seminar, Amali will present new insights into how subtle methylation changes create a tumor-promoting landscape and potentially predispose DNMT3A mutant cells to malignancy.

 

All welcome!

 

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