Hematopoietic Stem cells have the capacity to differentiate along multiple lineages potentially giving rise to all cells present in the blood. This process is controlled by cell-specific and ubiquitously expressed transcription factors and cofactors. Defects in the transcriptional regulatory network of these cells can lead to leukemia. The major goal of our lab at the Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research is to decipher the molecular mechanism of hematopoietic stem cell differentiation such that we can understand how deregulation of this process can contribute to disease including leukemia and ß-thalassemia. Towards this goal, we are using a multi-disciplinary approach that combines in vitro and in vivo techniques in both cell lines and primary human cells. These approaches include relative and absolute quantitative proteomics (isotope tagged methods), single cell proteomics (CyTOF), single cell genomics (CITEseq, sc-CUT&Tag, sc-RNAseq) and bioinformatics as well as patients-derived xenotransplantation models of leukemia and leukemia murine models.

 The lab currently has three main research directions:

 Project 1- Erythropoiesis and ß-thalassemia

 Project 2- T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL)