Dr Duncan Sproul is a programme leader and CRUK Career Development Fellow at the MRC Human Genetics Unit. His work focuses on understanding the role of epigenetic dysfunction in cancer and other diseases. Epigenetic marks signpost the DNA and are believed to help cells switch genes on and off. For example, to ensure that the genes that make haemoglobin are switched on in blood cells but not brain cells. Alterations in the levels epigenetic marks, are an intrinsic hallmark of cancer. However, we do not currently understand how this epigenetic dysfunction drives cancer and how it can be targeted to treat patients.
