Dr Kevin Rouault-Pierre
Group Leader
Overview
My main research interests are in haematopoietic stem cells and leukemic initiating cells. I seek to understand how intrinsic and extrinsic signals are integrated by normal and malignant stem cells.
Team
Faika Laz Banti
PhD Student
Dr Arantxa Carrasco Leon
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr Andrea Martisova
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr Daniel Mouzo
Postdoctoral Researcher
Research
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) and Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) are both clonal diseases that harbour MDS stem cells (MDS-SC) and pre-leukemic cells, respectively. Various studies have demonstrated that acquired mutations in haematopoietic cells’ genes can lead to clonal fitness and eventually to propagation of the disease. Understanding the switch between clonal haematopoiesis and clonal disease is one of the major challenges of the scientific community, which highlights the need to unravel how epigenetic/spliceosome stresses are integrated by stem cells and dictate their clonal fate.
In the lab we develop in-vitro and in-vivo modelling of MDS and AML diseases. Using primary human samples and multi-omics approaches including RNAseq (Bulk & single cell), Proteomics, Phosphoproteomics, Metabolomics and drug screening, we challenge normal and malignant haematopoiesis to unveil new therapeutic targets in myeloid malignancies.
Key words: Stem cells, patient samples, AML, MDS, splicing, RNA biology, metabolism and translation regulation.
Poster and Oral communications from the group, including prizes:
- September 2021: Oral presentation by Doriana Di Bella (PhD student) at the Barts Cancer Institute PhD Day, Won the Prize for the best oral presentation (AML & Microenvironment)
- October 2021: Oral presentation by Celine Philippe (Postdoctoral Fellow) at the annual conference of Hematology and Oncology, France. Won the Prize for the best presentation (Splicing & MDS)
- October 2021: Poster presentation (KRP) at the Endoplasmic Reticulum Symposium, France. Poster Prize.
- December 2021: Oral presentation by Celine Philippe (Postdoctoral Fellow) at the American Society of Hematology, USA
- December 2021: Oral presentation by Hannah Armes (Postdoctoral Fello) at the myeloid workshop of the American Society of Hematology, USA
- December 2021: Oral presentation (KRP) at the myeloid workshop of the American Society of Hematology, USA
- January 2022: Oral communication (KRP) at the RNA UK 2022
- April 2022: oral communication ESH MDS (Celine Philippe Postdoctoral Fellow)
- May 2023: oral communication and Tito Bastianello Young Investigator Award at the 17th International MDS Foundation conference (Celine Philippe Postdoctoral Fellow)
- May 2023: oral communication CALR meeting (Celine Philippe Postdoctoral Fellow)
- June 2023: oral communication BCI RNA Cancer Symposium (Celine Philippe Postdoc)
Oral communications/seminars (invited speaker/moderator/Chair)
- March 2018: London Stem Cell Network, Francis Crick Institute, UK
- June 2019: Stem Cell Lunch, KCL, UK
- January 2021: Institute COCHIN Paris, France
- January 2021: Cellular and molecular Radiobiology Institute CEA-Saclay, France
- February 2021: Clinical University of Navarra, Spain
- March 2021: Division of Cancer Sciences University of Manchester, UK
- March 2021: The Crick Stem Cell Forum, Francis Crick Institute, UK
- May 2021: Molecular and Cellular Immunology, UCL Institute of Child Health, UK
- November 2021: 24th Molecular Haemopoieis meeting
- December 2021: Myeloid Workshop American Society of Hematology congress, Atlanta, US
- June 2022: Group of Francophone Myelodysplasia, Nantes, France
- October 2022: NCRI MDS subgroup presentation, UK
- March 2023: Moderator at the Acute Myeloid Leukemia XVIII, Munich, Germany
- July 2023: Stem Cell Lunch, KCL, UK
Key Publications
Vitamin B5 and succinyl-CoA improve ineffective erythropoiesis in SF3B1-mutated myelodysplasia. Sci Transl Med. 2023 Mar;15(685):eabn5135. PMID: 36857430
Germline ERCC excision repair 6 like 2 (ERCC6L2) mutations lead to impaired erythropoiesis and reshaping of the bone marrow microenvironment. Br J Haematol. 2022 Dec;199(5):754-764. PMID: 36156210
Preclinical modeling of myelodysplastic syndromes. Leukemia (2017) 31(12):2702-2708. PMID: 28663577
Myelodysplastic synrome can propagate from the multipotent progenitor compartment. Haematologica (2016) 102(1):e7-e10. PMID: PMC5210239
SF3B1 mutant MDS initiating-cells may arise from the haematopoietic stem cell compartment. Nature Communications (2015) 6:10004. PMID: 26643973
HIF-2α Protects Human Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitors and Acute Myeloid Leukemic Cells from Apoptosis Induced by Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress. Cell Stem Cell (2013) 13(5):549-63. PMID: 24095676
See recent publicationsMajor Funding
- 2025-2026- MDS UK Patient Support Group Charity
- 2025- Impetus Fund
- 2024-2025- European Hematology Association Bilateral Collaborative Grant
- 2023-2026- CRUK Early Detection and Diagnosis Project Award
- 2023-2026- HARP programme (Clinical Research Fellow)
- 2022-2025- Barts Charity, Project Grant
- 2022-2023- British Society of Haematology, Early Stage Research grants support
Other Activities
- Member of the British Society of Haematology
- Member of the European Haematology Association
- Member of the Société Française d’Hématologie
Biography
My research has led to several seminal advances in the field of MDS biology and contributions to >35 peer-reviewed manuscripts in influential journals, including Cell Stem Cell and Science Translational Medicine. These have attracted >2000 citations (H-index 21; Google Scholar). Since 2018, I have led a team of 4-6 lab members in the Centre for Haemato-Oncology at the Barts Cancer Institute (QMUL). In September 2021, I was made tenured. I have acquired a national and international reputation as an expert in human haematopoietic stem cell biology, clonal evolution and haematological diseases modelling and have published seminal studies in different journals (including Cell Stem Cell, Leukemia, Haematologica, Hemasphere, Nature Communications, British Journal of Haematology and Science Translational Medicine). My studies on myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukaemia have revealed key molecular mechanisms of stem cell biology (response to hypoxia, MDS stem cell origin & metabolism) and clonal dynamic (MDS origin & clonal architecture). In parallel, we have pioneered important, robust methods for assaying clonal dynamic of hematopoietic stem cell function in health and disease, providing reference tools to the scientific community to screen drugs, to challenge putative target genes and study cross-talk between micro-environment and haematopoietic cells. Using cutting edge technologies on human primary cells we aim to reveal novel mechanisms regulating stem cells’ RNA biology and proteostasis.
Featured interviews
- PODCAST KRP MDS 2025
- Lecture at The Jose Carreras Leukemia Research Institute 2025
- Interviews at ISAL 2023:
Related News
New £1m clinical trial launches to improve quality of life for people with myelodysplastic syndromes
Researchers have been awarded £1m to launch a new clinical trial for people with myelodysplastic syndromes, a form of blood cancer with limited treatment options.
Publications 8 April 2026
Vitamin B5 could improve red blood cell production in people with myelodysplastic syndromes
Scientists from Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London and the Francis Crick Institute, have uncovered why patients with a rare type of blood cancer suffer from ineffective red blood cell production, and how vitamin B5 could be combined with existing drugs to improve outcomes.
General News 2 March 2023