Dr Benjamin Werner
Group Leader
Overview
In my group we work on somatic evolutionary processes. We develop mathematical and computational models of somatic evolution with a focus but not limited to the dynamics of clonal hematopoiesis, intra-tumour genetic heterogeneity and the spatial-temporal evolution of extra-chromosomal DNAs.
Team
Dr Magnus Haughey
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr Nathaniel Mon Père
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr Elisa Scanu
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr Francesco Terenzi
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr Long Wang
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr Loong Wang
Postdoctoral Researcher
Research
Theoretical Population Genetics
An important aspect of our work is to develop new theoretical tools rooted in population genetics. We often combine stochastic branching processes and individual based computer simulations to explain and quantitate somatic evolutionary processes.
Stochastic Dynamics of Extra Chromosomal DNA Elements
Extra-chromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is a major diver in 25% of all cancers. It drives oncogene amplifications and allows extreme cell to cell variation. As a member of the Cancer Grand Challenge team eDyNAmiC, we study the evolutionary properties of ecDNAs in cancer development, progression and relapse using mathematical and computational tools.
Quantitating somatic evolution in cancer
Tumours have tremendous intra-tumour genetic heterogeneity. We do now understand that a stochastic somatic evolutionary process of mutation accumulation and selection can explain these patterns. However, it remains difficult to quantify these evolutionary forces within individual tumours. One of our main goals is the development of methods that can explain and quantitate these processes. To do so we combine mathematical descriptions of somatic evolutionary processes and cancer genomic data.
Somatic evolution in modular species
Somatic evolution is not uniquely human. In any multi-cellular organism, somatic evolution should emerge in principle. However, this level of variation has not played a major role to explain patterns of adaptation and selection in non-human organisms. We apply models of human somatic evolution to asexually reproducing modular species, e.g. seagrasses, corals and trees, to test similarities and differences of these processes to better understand the conservation principles of the underlying evolutionary forces.
Key Publications
- Extrachromosomal DNA-Driven Oncogene Spatial Heterogeneity and Evolution in Glioblastoma. Cancer Discov. 2025 Oct 6;15(10):2078-2095. PMID: 40920091
- The dynamic fitness landscape of ageing haematopoiesis trough clonal competition. bioRxiv (2024). doi: 10.1101/2024.04.16.589764
- Measures of genetic diversification in somatic tissues at bulk and single-cell resolution. Elife. 2024 Jan 24:12:RP89780. PMID: 38265286
- The evolutionary dynamics of extrachromosomal DNA in human cancers. Nat Genet (2022). Online ahead of print. PMID: 36123406
- Measuring single cell divisions in human cancers from multi-region sequencing data. Nat Commun (2020) 11(1):1035. PMID: 32098957
Major Funding
- 2022 – Cancer Reserach UK and the National Cancer Institute Cancer Grand Challenge, Team eDyNAmiC, £660,000
- 2022-2026 – UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, “Quantifying the evolutionary dynamics of extrachromosomal DNA in human cancers,” ~£1.4M
- 2021-2024 – Human Frontiers in Science Program, “Asexual evolution in cancer, seagrass and corals,” £330,000
- 2021-2024 – European Research council, PhD training network “EvolGamesPlus” £400,000
- 2019-2022- Barts Charity, Mathematics of somatic evolutionary processes
Other Activities
- Member of Society of Mathematical Biology
- Guest Editor in PLoS Computational Biology
Biography
I studied Physics and Mathematics at the University of Leipzig (Germany) and afterwards joined the Evolutionary Theory Research Group of Arne Traulsen at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön (Germany). At that time, I started working on mathematical models of cancer with a focus on hierarchically organized systems, e.g. human hematopoiesis.
In 2015 I moved to London to join Andrea Sottoriva, who had just started his Cancer Evolutionary Genomics & Modelling Group at the Institute of Cancer Research. Our work mainly focused on aspects of intra-tumour genetic heterogeneity in solid tumours and how to combine somatic evolutionary concepts, population genetics theory and cancer genomic data.
In October 2019, I joined the newly established Centre of Cancer Evolution and Computational Biology, now the Centre for Cancer Evolution, at the Barts Cancer Institute to establish my own research group on Evolutionary Dynamics. In my group, we focus on two major aspects of somatic evolution: (i) evolutionary processes in non-cancerous ageing tissues and (ii) the evolutionary properties of extra-chromosomal DNA.
In 2021, I was awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship to investigate ecDNA evolution, and in 2022, the eDyNAmiC consortium to investigate the properties of ecDNAs in human cancers was funded by the Cancer Grand Challenge of CRUK & NCI, allowing us to combine our evolutionary models of ecDNAs with many experimental and clinical observations and data within the consortium.
Related News
Study offers clues to blood cancer risk, revealing how gene mutations compete over time
Researchers have developed a new way to understand how genetic changes linked to blood cancer evolve in our cells, offering new insight into predicting blood cancer risk.
Publications 5 May 2026
Rogue’ DNA rings reveal earliest clues to deadly brain cancer’s growth
An international team of scientists has revealed how rogue rings of DNA that float outside of our chromosomes – known as extrachromosomal DNA, or ecDNA – can drive the growth of a large proportion of glioblastomas, the most common and aggressive adult brain cancer. The discovery could open the door to much-needed new approaches to diagnose glioblastoma early, track its progress and treat it more effectively.
General News 8 September 2025
BCI researchers part of international team shortlisted for Cancer Grand Challenges award
Dr Özgen Deniz and Dr Benjamin Werner are part of a team shortlisted for these prestigious awards
General News 5 September 2023
Understanding the role of cancer’s circular genome in tumour evolution
New research, co-led by Dr Benjamin Werner from Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London, indicates that the circular DNA structures present in around a third of cancers lead to extensive genetic diversity within tumours, giving them the ability to adapt rapidly to environmental stress and resist targeted cancer treatment.
General News 23 September 2022
BCI researcher joins global Cancer Grand Challenges team
Dr Benjamin Werner from Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London is part of a world-class team of researchers that has been selected to receive a £20m Cancer Grand Challenges award to tackle the challenge of extrachromosomal DNA, a major driver of tumour evolution present in around a third of cancers.
General News 16 June 2022
BCI researcher receives UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship Award
Dr Benjamin Werner from Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, is one of the next generation of UK science leaders to receive funding through UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowships scheme. Dr Werner will receive an award of approximately £1.4 million, which will support a research project looking at the evolutionary dynamics of circular extra-chromosomal DNA (ecDNA) in human cancers.
General News 9 September 2021
BCI researcher part of team shortlisted for Cancer Grand Challenges awards
Dr Benjamin Werner from Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, is part of an international team that has been selected to share its ideas on how to solve one of cancer’s toughest challenges.
General News 23 June 2021
Evolutionary Insights: From cancer to corals
Dr Benjamin Werner has teamed up with evolutionary ecologists as part of a new research collaboration, funded by a $1 million research grant from the Human Frontier Science Program.
General News 27 August 2020