We use novel mass cytometry technology following allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation in patients, to define the global landscape of immune-cell populations preceding development of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) and to identify a dominant immunoregulatory role for subsets of CD56hi NK cells in limiting alloreative T-cell expansion and aGvHD.
I am interested in unveiling and modelling the mechanisms that drive clonal haematopoiesis and exploring niche-based therapies to prevent it, as clonal haematopoiesis has been recently linked to an increase in the development of leukaemia and cardiovascular conditions.
My research investigates the functional relevance of RNA-binding proteins (RBPS) in normal haematopoiesis and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) pathogenesis.
Our research is focused in defining the cellular interactome of haematopoietic stem cells and leukaemic stem cells inside their niches during adulthood, ageing and disease. We are also interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive clonal selection and evolution in clonal haematopoiesis.
The overarching goal of our laboratory is to understand the biology of normal haematopoietic and leukaemic stem cells in order to selectively kill cancer stem cells for better leukaemia treatment.
I investigate mathematical properties of somatic evolution in the context of both cancerous and healthy tissue.