Sven Turkalj

My passion for hematology started during my studies in Italy and France, where I investigated signaling pathways and mutated transcription factors in B-cell malignancies. After graduation, I switched focus to myeloid malignancy, by pursuing a PhD in the Vyas lab at the University of Oxford, known for having characterized leukemic stem cells in acute myeloid leukemia. There, by developing and deploying novel single-cell approaches, I studied how pre-leukemic clones gain advantage in human clonal hematopoiesis. Moreover, I assessed how gene mutations were associated with altered transcription and epigenetic de-regulation, therefore likely promoting leukemic cell maintenance and fueling relapse. Now, by joining the Armstrong Laboratory, I look forward to studying the principles of epigenetic regulation underlying oncogenic programs in this deadly disease, by performing more mechanistic studies characterizing the functional roles of chromatin complexes in leukemogenic gene expression.