About me

I am a physician-scientist that focuses on translational laboratory-based cancer research with a particular emphasis on hematological malignancies and on cancer predisposition syndromes. Another major research interest is centrosomal biology and chromosomal aneuploidy and its roles in developmental biology and cancer. These two interests are merged in the study of leukemias associated with germline aneuploidy (Down Syndrome). We combine advanced genomic approaches with functional pre-clinical models. Several of our discoveries proved to be of general importance to children and adults with acute leukemias. These include the discovery of ERG as an important hematopoietic oncogene, in addition to its known role in prostate cancer, and the discoveries of unique activating JAK2 mutations and of mutational activation of the cytokine receptors to TSLP and interleukin 7 in acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALL).