Yuqi Shen

I joined the Psaila/Mead groups in October 2022 after finishing my PhD with Prof. Richard Gibbons and Prof. Douglas Higgs at the WIMM, Oxford. During my PhD, I worked on elucidating the regulatory mechanisms by which the chromatin remodeller ATRX controls gene expression, using α-globin—one of ATRX’s key targets—as an exemplar.

In my current postdoctoral work, I am interested in the molecular mechanisms underlying blood cancer development, with particular focus on how mutations in haematopoietic stem cells alter gene regulatory programs and drive disease progression. I am applying my experience in gene regulation to a more translational setting, developing iPSC-based model systems carrying patient-specific mutations to track disease progression and identify early molecular events that could inform preventative or targeted therapies. In parallel, I am involved in developing an advanced 3D bone marrow organoid model that more closely recapitulates the physiological bone marrow microenvironment, enabling more accurate disease modelling and therapeutic validation.