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Alastair Smith
Postdoctoral Researcher
Brief biography and current research interests
I joined the Milne Lab in 2018 after completing my PhD, where I investigated the temporal regulation of transcription in V(D)J recombination. My current research focuses on the emergence and function of novel enhancers in leukaemia, with a particular emphasis on MLL-AF4 Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).
To investigate chromatin regulation and gene expression, I apply a broad suite of high-throughput and integrative approaches. These include ChIP-seq, low-input ChIPmentation, ATAC-seq, RNA-seq, Capture-C, CUT&Tag, single-cell multiomics, and DNA methylation profiling. I combine these data with machine learning and advanced bioinformatic methods to uncover mechanisms of transcriptional dysregulation in leukaemia.
Recent publications
Menin maintains enhancer-promoter interactions in a leukemia-specific manner
Preprint
Sharlandjieva V. et al, (2026)
genome-wide screen identifies Runx2 as a novel regulator of hematopoietic stem cell expansion and T-cell commitment.
Journal article
Meaker GA. et al, (2025), Blood, 146, 3188 - 3200
Enhancer heterogeneity in acute lymphoblastic leukemia drives differential gene expression in patients.
Journal article
Smith AL. et al, (2025), Blood, 146, 2073 - 2087
PROM1/CD133 marks a proliferative stem cell-like population of blasts in KMT2A rearranged infant ALL.
Journal article
Cross JW. et al, (2025), Blood Adv, 9, 4607 - 4613
Iron deficiency causes aspartate-sensitive dysfunction in CD8+ T cells.
Journal article
Teh MR. et al, (2025), Nat Commun, 16
