Professor Eric C.W. SO
Visiting Research Professor, HKU and
Professor and Chair in Leukaemia Biology 
Department of Haematological Medicine, King’s College London, UK

Date: Thursday, 23-November-2017
Time: 4:00 PM
Venue: Rm. A2-08, 2/F, Mrs. Chen Yang Foo Oi Telemedicine Centre
William MW Mong Block, Faculty of Medicine Building
21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

Summary: 
While cancer is initiated and sustained by specific genetic mutations that confer growth advantage of the targeted cells, it becomes clear that the behavior and biology of cancer cells are results of complicated crosstalk between these genetic mutations and the molecular networks resided in the cells of origin leading to their distinctive biology and treatment responses. In spite of significant progress and insights been made over the past few decades by modeling the human diseases using equivalent mouse cells, there are still clear differences between human and mouse, which can however limit the direct translation of certain aspects of the mouse findings to the human diseases. Among them is the outstanding question about the origin of the human cancer, which remains largely elusive. This is however critical for understanding the natural history, and to provides essential insights into the overall cellular and molecular architecture of the disease required for designing effective therapeutic strategies.  In this seminar, we will discuss the important functions of cells of origin in determining the biology of the resultant cancer and our recent endeavor in identifying the origin of human MLL leukemia.

ALL ARE WELCOME