Contact information
Research groups
Vasiliki Symeonidou
PhD, MSc, BSc
Postdoctoral Researcher
Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) is the most aggressive blood cancer. Although progress has been made in treating young patient with AML, older patients diagnosed with this disease have a dismal prognosis. One of most common treatments for these patients is hypomethylating agents. Interestingly, even though hypomethylating agents have been used in the clinic for over a decade, we still lack fundamental understanding of their exact mechanisms of action. This gap in our knowledge prevents us from harvesting the true power of these agents. For my research I want to understand the mechanism of action and resistance of these agents. In addition to hypomethylating agents, I am also investigating the mechanisms of action and resistant of cereblon E3 ligase modulating drugs.
I joined the Vyas group in August 2020 as a Post-Doctoral Researcher. I moved to Oxford from Edinburgh where in 2020 I was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. For my Ph.D. I studied a different but equally aggressive type of leukaemia, infant MLL-AF4-drive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
Recent publications
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Defining the fetal origin of MLL-AF4 infant leukemia highlights specific fatty acid requirements
Journal article
Symeonidou V. et al, (2021), Cell Reports, 37, 109900 - 109900
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HOXA9/IRX1 expression pattern defines two subgroups of infant MLL-AF4-driven acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Journal article
Symeonidou V. and Ottersbach K., (2021), Experimental Hematology, 93, 38 - 43.e5