Dr David Taussig
Research Interests
Dr David Taussig's main research themes are in Haematological Malignancies and Leukaemia
My research is on acute myeloid leukaemia, which is characterised by an invasion of the bone marrow by leukaemic myeloid cells in various stages of maturation. The research focuses on the rare population of leukaemia-initiating cells (sometimes referred to as leukaemia stem cells) that are believed to be the cells that maintain the malignancy and are the cause of drug resistance and relapse in patients. We aim to charaterise the unique phenotypic characteristics of these leukaemia initiating cells as a means of being able to identify possible cellular targets for development of new therapies. We are also investigating the interaction between normal and malignant leukaemia stem cells. One principle area of this is to study how leukaemia out competes normal haematopoietic stem cells to induce bone marrow failure.
Profile
Dr Taussig underwent specialist training in Haematology on the North East London rotation (Royal London and St Bartholomew’s Hospitals). As a Clinical Research Fellow I investigated the expression of myeloid markers on leukaemic stem cells at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (Supervisor: Dr Dominique Bonnet). Subsequently I have been elucidating the mechanism of bone marrow failure in acute myeloid leukaemia funded through a Clinician Scientist Fellowship.
Funding
MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship 2006-2010 £972,000
Key Publications
Taussig DC, Pearce DJ, Simpson C, Rohatiner AZ, Lister TA, Kelly G, Luongo JL, Danet-Desnoyers GA, Bonnet D. Hematopoietic stem cells express multiple myeloid markers: implications for the origin and targeted therapy of acute myeloid leukemia. Blood. 2005;106:4086-4092. 16131573
Pearce DJ*, Taussig D*, Zibara K, Smith LL, Ridler CM, Preudhomme C, Young BD, Rohatiner AZ, Lister TA, Bonnet D. AML engraftment in the NOD/SCID assay reflects the outcome of AML: implications for our understanding of the heterogeneity of AML. Blood. 2006;107:1166-1173. 16234360
Taussig DC, Miraki-Moud F, Anjos-Afonso F, Pearce DJ, Allen K, Ridler C, Lillington D, Oakervee H, Cavenagh J, Agrawal SG, Lister TA, Gribben JG, Bonnet D. Anti-CD38 antibody-mediated clearance of human repopulating cells masks the heterogeneity of leukemia-initiating cells. Blood. 2008;112:568-575. 18523148
Le Dieu R*, Taussig DC*, Ramsay AG, Mitter R, Miraki-Moud F, Fatah R, Lee AM, Lister TA, Gribben JG. Peripheral blood T cells in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients at diagnosis have abnormal phenotype and genotype and form defective immune synapses with AML blasts. Blood. 2009;114:3909-3916. 19710498
Taussig DC, Vargaftig J, Miraki-Moud F, Griessinger E, Sharrock K, Luke T, Lillington D, Oakervee H, Cavenagh J, Agrawal SG, Lister TA, Gribben JG, Bonnet D. Leukemia-initiating cells from some acute myeloid leukemia patients with mutated nucleophosmin reside in the CD34(-) fraction. Blood. 2010;115:1976-1984. 20053758
Further Publications
For additional publications, please click here.
Research Group
Post doctoral research assistant: Farideh Miraki-Moud
