Our Research
In the Payne Lab at the UCL Cancer Institute, we study bone marrow failure, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and inherited and acquired predispositions to these conditions. We use a combination of approaches to study these disorders, modelling them using zebrafish and using samples from patients to validate our findings.
The goal of our research is to understand the molecular mechanisms of the diseases we study and to screen for novel therapeutics.
Our research focuses on specific genetic mutations that can cause predisposition to MDS or bone marrow failure. This can be as a result of genetic conditions, such as the ribosomopathies Diamond-Blackfan anaemia and 5q- syndrome, inherited predisposition to MDS/AML or due to normal age-related clonal haematopoiesis known as CHIP. Ageing and CHIP are at the core of our current research projects, as we investigate the mutations and risk factors that can predispose the ageing population to MDS and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).