Elvin Wagenblast, PhD

About Me

Elvin Wagenblast is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Oncological Sciences and the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology. He is a member of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Black Family Stem Cell Institute, the Tisch Cancer Institute, the Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, and Center for Advancement of Blood Cancer Therapies. Elvin Wagenblast obtained his PhD at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York with Dr. Greg Hannon. He subsequently completed his postdoctoral studies at Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto with Dr. John Dick. He studies human blood stem cells and leukemia using CRISPR-based genome editing approaches.

Lab Website: Wagenblast Lab

Language

English

Position

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR | Oncological Sciences, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR | Pediatrics, Hematology/Oncology

Research Topics

Blood, Cancer Genetics, Leukemia, Stem Cells

Multi-Disciplinary Training Areas

Cancer Biology [CAB], Development Regeneration and Stem Cells [DRS], Genetics and Genomic Sciences [GGS]

Education

BSc, Heidelberg University, Germany

PhD, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY

Postdoctoral, Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Canada

Awards

American Society of Hematology Scholar Award

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Special Fellow

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Young Investigator

Human Frontier Science Program Fellowship

Banting Fellowship

Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Fellowship

Fulbright Fellowship

Research

The central question of our lab is to understand how a normal blood stem cell can become cancerous. In leukemia, the initiating genetic mutations occur as early as during fetal development. Our team applies cutting-edge CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing approaches in human primary blood stem cells to model the pre-leukemic and leukemic phases of acute myeloid and acute lymphoblastic leukemia in vivo. The goal is to uncover insights into the genetic, cellular and developmental mechanisms of leukemia, with a particular focus on childhood leukemia, and identify therapeutic vulnerabilities of the disease.