1). Identifying and targeting central 3D regulatory nodes that dictate cancer programs
2). Dissecting mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance of cell identity after cell division
3). Studying the functional interconnections between 3D chromatin organization and transcription
4). Defining regulators of epigenetic plasticity in development, immunity and cancer.
Our main research focus is to understand the complex functional interplay between transcription and 3D chromatin architecture and their impact on cell fate decisions, such as reprogramming, self-renewal or differentiation, and tumorigenesis. Specifically, we have set two key research directions: (A) To establish a computational and experimental platform for the identification and functional interrogation of core regulatory elements and factors that control cell fate decisions in embryonic development and various disease contexts. (B) To determine mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance of cell identity and exploit temporal windows of vulnerability of cell fate.
Biography
Since I entered the Biology School in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, I have been fascinated by the complexity of molecular mechanisms that govern how are genes and cells work. During my PhD studies in Dimitris Thanos lab in Greece, I uncovered how inter-chromosomal contacts contribute to the stochastic gene expression upon virus induction. In 2009, I joined Konrad Hochedlinger’s lab in MGH and Harvard Stem Cell institute in Boston to study epigenetic mechanisms that drive somatic cell reprograming to iPSCs and the degree of 3D chromatin rewiring during this process .
I am currently an Associate Professor of Molecular Biology at Weill Cornell Medicine, which I joined in 2014. The main focus of my group is to dissect the critical interplay between TFs, 3D chromatin organization and transcription during either (i) maintenance of cell fate (self-renewal) or (ii) during transition to a new fate. Research in my lab led recently to the construction of an integrative, genome-wide map of the dynamic architectural and transcriptional changes that occur upon mitotic exit to ensure faithful propagation of stem cell identity and functionally interrogated the role of mitotic bookmarking in this process. My group has also shown that transcription factors, such as KLF4, play important roles in the organization and transcriptional regulation of 3D enhancer hubs.
I have received several awards, including Jane Coffins Child Foundation and EMBO postdoctoral fellowships as well as the NIH Director’s New Innovator award and the Emerging Leader award from the Mark Foundation. I am currently a member of the 4D Nucleome consortium.
I strongly believe in equality across genders, ethnicities and sexual preferences. I actively try to promote diversity in the lab, which has accommodated more than 20 nationalities from all over the world, and I volunteer as a mentor for undergraduate and high-school underrepresented minority students.
Distinctions:
AACR Mid-Career TrailBlazer award
Emerging Leader Award by the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
NIH Director’s New Innovator Award
Jane Coffin Childs Fund long-term post-doctoral fellowship
Selected Publications:
Breves, S. L., Di Giammartino, D. C., Nicholson, J., Cirigliano, S., Mahmood, S. R., Lee, U. J., Martinez-Fundichely, A., Jungverdorben, J. Singhania, R., Rajkumar, S., Kirou, R., Studer, L., Khurana, E., Polyzos, A., Fine, H. A., Apostolou, E., Three-dimensional regulatory hubs support oncogenic programs in glioblastoma, Molecular Cell, Volume 85, Issue 7, 2025, Pages 1330-1348.e6, ISSN 1097-2765
