Russell Ryan, PhD

Assistant Professor, Pathology
Accepting Students?
Yes
Research Interests:
Mature B-cell lymphoma, Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, enhancers, transcriptional regulation, chromatin

Research Interests:

Aberrant distal enhancer activity can drive cancer by several different mechanisms. First, mutated or otherwise altered transcription factors can sustain the activity of developmental oncogene enhancers in an inappropriate cellular context. Second, alterations to the genomic sequence or context of distal enhancers (such as “enhancer hijacking” chromosomal rearrangements) can lead to abnormal oncogene activation. Finally, genomic sequences such as short tandem repeats that do not normally function as regulatory elements can take on a cancer-specific enhancer function when their normal chromatin regulatory mechanisms are perturbed. My lab uses genome-wide epigenomic profiling methods and custom high-throughput enhancer perturbation assays to study oncogene enhancer activation, with the goal of identifying upstream pathways that could be targeted for improved lymphoma and leukemia therapy.

Other Related Information

I believe it is essential that members of all communities, whether defined by race, ethnicity, religion, gender / gender identity, sexual orientation, geography, and socioeconomic factors, be able to see genuine representation of themselves and their interests in the scientific community. Having benefited from many privileges in my background, I believe it is incumbent on me to ensure that the scientists I train include representatives of diverse communities, and that they feel supported to overcome the greater challenges that many will face in their career development. It is important to me that I cultivate an accepting work environment free of bias or harassment of any form.