Francisco Saavedra Cantillana, Ph.D.

Secciones

Francisco Saavedra Cantillana, Ph.D.
Title
Postdoctoral fellow
Department
Biochemistry
Institution
University of Washington
Address
UW Medicine at South Lake Union
850 Republican St., S540
City, State, ZIP
Seattle, WA 98109
Phone
206-519-8015
Email
[email protected]
Website
https://sites.uw.edu/escobart/
Research field
Molecular Biology
Award year
2022
Country of origin
Chile
Mentor name
Thelma M. Escobar, Ph.D.

Research

In the Escobar lab, I will study the changes in chromatin landscape that lead to leukemia. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a disorder characterized by a proliferation of immature, undeveloped blood cells. More than one-third of AML cases are associated with mutations in the gene NPM1. This gene encodes a protein chaperone that normally facilitates the maintenance of histones that carry post-translational modifications on specific regions of the chromatin, and we hypothesize that this maintenance is required for the proper differentiation of mature blood cells during hematopoiesis. Using state-of-the-art techniques in human induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs), CRISPR engineering, biochemistry, and genomic analysis, I will assess how NPM1 functions in the establishment and maintenance of the epigenetic modifications on chromatin that control the self-renewal and fate decisions of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells (HPCs). I am particularly interested in characterizing how mutations in NPM1 affect the protein’s ability to sustain the epigenetic landscape of HPCs. We anticipate that these findings could point toward novel therapeutics for AML and other forms of leukemia that are dependent on NPM1.

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