Speaker:   Ben Ebert
Harvard Medical Center, Boston, USA

Title:  The genetics of myeloid neoplasia, from pre-malignancy to acute leukemia

Hosts: Hartmut Döhner & Jan Krönke

Location: Hörsaal Chirurgie (Surgery Auditorium)

<link file:233963 download internal link in current>Announcement

Dr. Ebert is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He received a bachelor's degree from Williams College, a doctorate from Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, and an MD from Harvard Medical School. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute before pursuing postdoctoral research at the Broad Institute.

"We study the biology and treatment of cancer using hematopoiesis as a model system. The laboratory employs a range of genomic technologies as well as classical cellular and molecular biology approaches to investigate the biology of specific human diseases, particularly hematopoietic malignancies and disorders of red blood cell production.

A major focus of the laboratory is the myelodsyplastic syndrome (MDS), a pre-malignant disorder of hematopoietic stem cells that progresses to acute leukemia. In recent work, we identified a gene that plays a central role in the pathophysiology of the 5q- syndrome, a subtype of MDS. Our findings revealed a molecular link between the 5q- syndrome and congenital bone marrow failure syndromes such as Diamond Blackfan Anemia.

We are also actively involved in the identification and development of small molecules that could be useful for the treatment of cancer and hematologic disorders. We are studying compounds that induce fetal hemoglobin and could be useful for the sickle cell anemia. In addition, we are working on the identification and characterization of compounds that alter hematopoietic differentiation that could be useful for the treatment of cancer and non-malignant hematopoietic disorders."