Mark Dawson

Mark Dawson demonstrated that BET bromodomain inhibition is a potent therapeutic strategy in MLL-rearranged leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia, showing that BRD4 displacement from acetylated histones at leukemia-maintaining enhancers causes differentiation and apoptosis of leukemic cells. His laboratory has systematically characterized mechanisms of resistance to epigenetic therapies and developed rational combination strategies to overcome them. He has contributed to understanding how dynamic histone acetylation landscapes are rewired during leukemia progression and therapy resistance. His translational research bridges chromatin biology and clinical hematology to improve epigenetic therapy for blood cancers.