iCAN science seminar on Clonal hematopoiesis in human aging and disease with Siddhartha Jaiswal
We are pleased to kick off the iCAN science seminar series for the academic year 2024-2025 with Dr. Siddhartha Jaiswal, M.D. from Stanford University.
Speaker: Dr. Siddhartha Jaiswal, M.D.
Topic: Clonal hematopoiesis in human aging and disease
When: Thu 22.8. at 13:30-14:30
Where: Biomedicum 1, Lecture hall 2, and online
Zoom-link (Meeting ID: 648 0498 6682 Passcode: 366409)
Host: Prof. Satu Mustjoki
If you wish to meet Dr. Jaiswal during his visit, please contact Prof. Mustjoki at satu.mustjoki@helsinki.fi or Project Coordinator Francesca De Lorenzo, Ph.D. at francesca.delorenzo@helsinki.fi
Dr. Jaiswal is an investigator at Stanford University in the Department of Pathology, where his lab focuses on understanding the biology of the aging hematopoietic system.
As a post-doctoral fellow, he identified a common, pre-malignant state for blood cancers by reanalysis of large sequencing datasets. This condition, termed “clonal hematopoiesis”, is characterized by the presence of stem cell clones harboring certain somatic mutations, primarily in genes involved in epigenetic regulation of hematopoiesis. Clonal hematopoiesis is prevalent in the aging population and increases the risk of not only blood cancer, but also cardiovascular disease and overall mortality.
Recent work from the lab has identified that the reason for selection of many mutant clones is due to aberrant expression of the gene TCL1A, suggesting that key downstream growth/survival pathways dysregulated in mutant HSCs are dependent on this gene. Other work has identified that clonal hematopoiesis is surprisingly associated with protection from Alzheimer’s disease, which may be due to infiltration of mutant cells into the brain. Dr. Jaiswal’s longstanding goal is to identify clinical interventions to reduce the risk of adverse consequences in those with pre-malignant states like clonal hematopoiesis.
Find more information about the speaker and his publications in his cv.
Welcome to the seminar! Come early for a cup of coffee.