Vervoort Lab

Gene expression control is vital for health; deregulation causes diseases, including cancer. RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII) creates temporary RNA messages from DNA, instructing cellular processes, a process which is called transcription.

Cancer cells hijack RNAPII for aggressive growth and when control over the transcriptional process is lost, uncontrolled RNAPII activity may boost cancer growth.

We aim to identify how the transcription process is regulated and use this understanding to find anti-cancer therapeutics. These novel therapeutics are aimed at restoring transcriptional control and thereby halting tumor growth.

Our goal is to uncover more checkpoints, find novel targets, develop therapies, and positively impact patient outcomes.

From fundamental discoveries to translation!

Discovery and Targeting of Novel Regulators of RNA Polymerase II in Cancer

We are the Vervoort Lab, an interdisciplinary scientific research laboratory at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) in Melbourne, Australia. We aim to identify novel fundamental mechanisms of RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII)-mediated gene regulation in normal conditions and explore how these can be dysregulated in the context of cancer.

Our goal is to identify critical vulnerabilities in cancer cells and exploit these therapeutically. Our research uses advanced genomics technologies and genome-wide CRISPR-screening technologies which we combine with bioinformatics analyses methods and relevant pre-clinical cancer models.

From Textbook Knowledge to Disease Understanding and novel Therapeutics.

The lab’s work has had significant scientific and commercial impact in the field of molecular control of RNA Polymerase II (RNAPII)-mediated transcription in health and disease. These accomplishments have been recognized through various grants, awards, fellowships, invited seminars, and media features.

The lab employs state-of-the-art genome-engineering, genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screening, advanced genomics technologies, and bioinformatics analysis methods in relevant pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo cancer and immune models.

It has discovered numerous novel regulatory mechanisms controlling RNAPII, including the novel PP2A-integrator submodule (Cell 2021), CDK12/13-mediated regulation of the elongation phase of transcription (Science Advances 2020) and the interplay between P300/CBP-controlled histone acetylation and RNAPII (Mol Cell 2021). A conceptual framework for transcriptional targeting in cancer was recently published in Nature Reviews Cancer 2022.