Contact: b.d.young@qmul.ac.uk

Professional Interests

Professor Young joined the ICRF in 1984 to become the Head of the Medical Oncology Laboratory at Barts hospital. He is now Head of the Cancer Genomics Group with a major focus on the genetics and genomics of haematological malignancy. Through the study of chromosomal translocations his group was involved in the identification of the MLL gene, which is key in the development of leukaemias. The Cancer Genomics Group has introduced Affymetrix microarray technology to the Medical School and provides array analysis to other researchers in the institution.

The work of his group has lead to several key observations, including the finding of distinct gene expression profiles related to chromosomal translocation events. More recently his group has uncovered the phenomenon of uniparental disomy in leukaemias and other malignancies. This unexpected finding is the consequence of mitotic recombination and offers new insights into the evolution of the cancer cell. His group has developed techniques for the analysis of genomic data with particular reference to high throughput genotype analysis. Genomic technology is evolving rapidly with the development of ultra high throughput systems such as clonal sequencing. The Cancer Genomics Group, under Professor Young’s direction, is introducing this technology into the School.

The Cancer Genomics Group is supported by a program grant from Cancer Research UK and project grants from the Leukaemia Research Fund

Cancer Genomics Group:

Funding:

CRUK Programme Grant Grant 2006-2011 £3,500,000 "Molecular basis of haematological malignancy"

Leukaemia Research Fund Project Grant 2005-2008 £335,700 "SNP genotype analysis of acquired abnormalities in acute myeloid leukaemia"

Cancer Research UK Clinical Fellowship 2004–2007 £150,000 "Genetic analysis of acute leukaemia"

Barts & The London Charitable Foundation Studentship 2005-2008 £70,000

Barts & The London Charitable Foundation Grant 2004 £260,000 "Upgrade to Affymetrix system and purchase of consumables"

Recent Publications:

• Mead AJ, Gale RE, Hills RK, Gupta M, Young BD, Burnett AK, Linch DC. Conflicting data on the prognostic significance of FLT3/TKD mutations in acute myeloid leukemia might be related to the incidence of biallelic disease. Blood 2008;112(2):444-5;
  
• Gupta M, Raghavan M, Gale RE, Chelala C, Allen C, Molloy G, Chaplin T, Linch DC, Cazier JB, Young BD. Novel regions of acquired uniparental disomy discovered in acute myeloid leukemia. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2008;47(9):729-39.
• Horsley SW, Colman S, McKinley M, Bateman CM, Jenney M, Chaplin T, Young BD, Greaves M, Kearney L. Genetic lesions in a preleukemic aplasia phase in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2008;47(4):333-40.
• Debernardi S, Skoulakis S, Molloy G, Chaplin T, Dixon-McIver A, Young BD. MicroRNA miR-181a correlates with morphological sub-class of acute myeloid leukaemia and the expression of its target genes in global genome-wide analysis. Leukemia 2007;21(5):912-6.
• Fitzgibbon J, Iqbal S, Davies A, O'shea D, Carlotti E, Chaplin T, Matthews J, Raghavan M, Norton A, Lister TA, Young BD. Genome-wide detection of recurring sites of uniparental disomy in follicular and transformed follicular lymphoma. Leukemia 2007;21(7):1514-20.
• Harada T, Chelala C, Bhakta V, Chaplin T, Caulee K, Baril P, Young BD, Lemoine NR. Genome-wide DNA copy number analysis in pancreatic cancer using high-density single nucleotide polymorphism arrays. Oncogene 2008;27(13):1951-60.
• Mao X, James SY, Yáñez-Muñoz RJ, Chaplin T, Molloy G, Oliver RT, Young BD, Lu YJ. Rapid high-resolution karyotyping with precise identification of chromosome breakpoints. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2007;46(7):675-83.
• Purdie KJ, Lambert SR, Teh MT, Chaplin T, Molloy G, Raghavan M, Kelsell DP, Leigh IM, Harwood CA, Proby CM, Young BD. Allelic imbalances and microdeletions affecting the PTPRD gene in cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas detected using single nucleotide polymorphism microarray analysis. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2007;46(7):661-9.
• Summers K, Stevens J, Kakkas I, Smith M, Smith LL, Macdougall F, Cavenagh J, Bonnet D, Young BD, Lister TA, Fitzgibbon J. Wilms' tumour 1 mutations are associated with FLT3-ITD and failure of standard induction chemotherapy in patients with normal karyotype AML. Leukemia. 2007 Mar;21(3):550-1.
• Bungaro S, Raghavan M, Dell'Oro MG, Paolucci P, Young BD, Biondi A, Cazzaniga G. Assessment of submicroscopic genetic lesions by single nucleotide polymorphism arrays in a child with acute myeloid leukemia and FLT3-internal tandem duplication. Haematologica 2006;91(7):998-1000.
• Dunne J, Cullmann C, Ritter M, Soria NM, Drescher B, Debernardi S, Skoulakis S, Hartmann O, Krause M, Krauter J, Neubauer A, Young BD, Heidenreich O. siRNA-mediated AML1/MTG8 depletion affects differentiation and proliferation-associated gene expression in t(8;21)-positive cell lines and primary AML blasts. Oncogene 2006;25(45):6067-78.
• Mao X, Orchard G, Vonderheid EC, Nowell PC, Bagot M, Bensussan A, Russell-Jones R, Young BD, Whittaker SJ. Heterogeneous abnormalities of CCND1 and RB1 in primary cutaneous T-Cell lymphomas suggesting impaired cell cycle control in disease pathogenesis. J Invest Dermatol 2006;126(6):1388-95.
• Pearce DJ, Taussig D, Zibara K, Smith LL, Ridler CM, Preudhomme C, Young BD, Rohatiner AZ, Lister TA, Bonnet D. AML engraftment in the NOD/SCID assay reflects the outcome of AML: implications for our understanding of the heterogeneity of AML. Blood 2006;107(3):1166-73.
• Severinsen JE, Bjarkam CR, Kiaer-Larsen S, Olsen IM, Nielsen MM, Blechingberg J, Nielsen AL, Holm IE, Foldager L, Young BD, Muir WJ, Blackwood DH, Corydon TJ, Mors O, Børglum AD. Evidence implicating BRD1 with brain development and susceptibility to both schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder. Mol Psychiatry 2006;11(12):1126-38
• Strefford JC, Lane TM, Hill A, LeRoux L, Foot NJ, Shipley J, Oliver RT, Lu YJ, Young BD. Molecular characterisation of the t(1;15)(p22;q22) translocation in the prostate cancer cell line LNCaP. Cytogenet Genome Res 2006;112(1-2):45-52.
• Strefford JC, van Delft FW, Robinson HM, Worley H, Yiannikouris O, Selzer R, Richmond T, Hann I, Bellotti T, Raghavan M, Young BD, Saha V, Harrison CJ. Complex genomic alterations and gene expression in acute lymphoblastic leukemia with intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome 21. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2006;103(21):8167-72.
• Young BD, Debernardi S, Lillington DM, Skoulakis S, Chaplin T, Foot NJ, Raghavan M. A role for mitotic recombination in leukemogenesis. Adv Enzyme Regul 2006;46:90-7.
• Fitzgibbon J, Smith LL, Raghavan M, Smith ML, Debernardi S, Skoulakis S, Lillington D, Lister TA, Young BD. Association between acquired uniparental disomy and homozygous gene mutation in acute myeloid leukemias. Cancer Res 2005;65(20):9152-4.
• Kelsell DP, Norgett EE, Unsworth H, Teh MT, Cullup T, Mein CA, Dopping-Hepenstal PJ, Dale BA, Tadini G, Fleckman P, Stephens KG, Sybert VP, Mallory SB, North BV, Witt DR, Sprecher E, Taylor AE, Ilchyshyn A, Kennedy CT, Goodyear H, Moss C, Paige D, Harper JI, Young BD, Leigh IM, Eady RA, O'Toole EA. Mutations in ABCA12 underlie the severe congenital skin disease harlequin ichthyosis. Am J Hum Genet 2005 May;76(5):794-803.
• Lu YJ, Yang J, Noel E, Skoulakis S, Chaplin T, Raghavan M, Purkis T, McIntyre A, Kudahetti SC, Naase M, Berney D, Shipley J, Oliver RT, Young BD. Association between large-scale genomic homozygosity without chromosomal loss and nonseminomatous germ cell tumor development. Cancer Res 2005;65(20):9137-41.
• Raghavan M, Lillington DM, Skoulakis S, Debernardi S, Chaplin T, Foot NJ, Lister TA, Young BD. al. Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism analysis reveals frequent partial uniparental disomy due to somatic recombination in acute myeloid leukemias. Cancer Res 2005;65(2):375-8.
• Strefford JC, Stasevich I, Lane TM, Lu YJ, Oliver T, Young BD. A combination of molecular cytogenetic analyses reveals complex genetic alterations in conventional renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 2005;159(1):1-9.
• Teh MT, Blaydon D, Chaplin T, Foot NJ, Skoulakis S, Raghavan M, Harwood CA, Proby CM, Philpott MP, Young BD, Kelsell DP. Genomewide single nucleotide polymorphism microarray mapping in basal cell carcinomas unveils uniparental disomy as a key somatic event. Cancer Res 2005;65(19):8597-603.
• Wilson C, Yang J, Strefford JC, Summersgill B, Young BD, Shipley J, Oliver T, Lu YJ. Overexpression of genes on 16q associated with cisplatin resistance of testicular germ cell tumor cell lines. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2005;43(2):211-6.
• Debernardi S, Lillington D, Young BD. Understanding cancer at the chromosome level: 40 years of progress. Eur J Cancer 2004;40(13):1960-7.
• Ferti AD, Panani AD, Stamouli MI, Rondogianni DP, Raptis SA, Young BD. M-FISH in gastric lymphoma. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 2004;155(1):63-6.
• Ferti AD, Stamouli MJ, Panani AD, Raptis SA, Young BD. Molecular cytogenetic analysis of breast cancer: a combined multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization and G-banding study of uncultured tumor cells. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 2004;149(1):28-37.
• Liu WM, Strauss SJ, Chaplin T, Shahin S, Propper DJ, Young BD, Joel SP, Malpas JS. s-thalidomide has a greater effect on apoptosis than angiogenesis in a multiple myeloma cell line. Hematol J 2004;5(3):247-54.
• Mao X, Orchard G, Lillington DM, Child FJ, Vonderheid EC, Nowell PC, Bagot M, Bensussan A, Russell-Jones R, Young BD, Whittaker SJ. BCL2 and JUNB abnormalities in primary cutaneous lymphomas. Br J Dermatol 2004;151(3):546-56.
• Pappa V, Young BD, Economopoulos T, Papageorgiou E, Panani A, Lilington D, Bollas G, Stamouli M, Kontsioti F, Tsiotra P, Vessalas G, Dervenoulas J, Raptis S.. Absence of MLL gene rearrangement in de novo myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Ann Hematol 2004;83(3):170-5.
• Woodfine K, Fiegler H, Beare DM, Collins JE, McCann OT, Young BD, Debernardi S, Mott R, Dunham I, Carter NP. Replication timing of the human genome. Hum Mol Genet 2004;13(2):191-202.
• Chambers AE, Banerjee S, Chaplin T, Dunne J, Debernardi S, Joel SP, Young BD. Histone acetylation-mediated regulation of genes in leukaemic cells. Eur J Cancer 2003;39(8):1165-75.
• Debernardi S, Lillington DM, Chaplin T, Tomlinson S, Amess J, Rohatiner A, Lister TA, Young BD. Genome-wide analysis of acute myeloid leukemia with normal karyotype reveals a unique pattern of homeobox gene expression distinct from those with translocation-mediated fusion events. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2003;37(2):149-58.
• Hill AS, MacCallum PK, Young BD, Lillington DM. Molecular cloning of a constitutional t(7;22) translocation associated with risk of hematological malignancy. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2003;38(3):260-4.
• Lillington DM, Kingston JE, Coen PG, Price E, Hungerford J, Domizio P, Young BD, Onadim Z. Comparative genomic hybridization of 49 primary retinoblastoma tumors identifies chromosomal regions associated with histopathology, progression, and patient outcome. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2003;36(2):121-8.
• Mao X, Lillington DM, Czepulkowski B, Russell-Jones R, Young BD, Whittaker S. Molecular cytogenetic characterization of Sezary syndrome. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2003;36(3):250-60.
• Mao X, Onadim Z, Price EA, Child F, Lillington DM, Russell-Jones R, Young BD, Whittaker S. Genomic alterations in blastic natural killer/extranodal natural killer-like T cell lymphoma with cutaneous involvement. J Invest Dermatol 2003;121(3):618-27.
• Mao X, Orchard G, Lillington DM, Russell-Jones R, Young BD, Whittaker S. Genetic alterations in primary cutaneous CD30+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2003;37(2):176-85.
• Mao X, Orchard G, Lillington DM, Russell-Jones R, Young BD, Whittaker SJ. Amplification and overexpression of JUNB is associated with primary cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. Blood 2003;101(4):1513-9.
• Dalley CD, Neat MJ, Foot NJ, et al. Comparative genomic hybridization and multiplex-fluorescence in situ hybridization: an appraisal in elderly patients with acute myelogenous leukemia. Hematol J 2002;3:290-8.
• Debernardi S, Bassini A, Jones LK, et al. The MLL fusion partner AF10 binds GAS41, a protein that interacts with the human SWI/SNF complex. Blood 2002;99:275-81.
• DiMartino JF, Ayton PM, Chen EH, Naftzger CC, Young BD, and Cleary ML. The AF10 leucine zipper is required for leukemic transformation of myeloid progenitors by MLL-AF10. Blood 2002;99:3780-5.
• Jenner MJ, Summers KE, Norton AJ, et al. JH probe real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay for Bcl-2/IgH rearrangements. Br J Haematol 2002;118:550-8.
• Lillington DM, Goff LK, Kingston JE, et al. High level amplification of N-MYC is not associated with adverse histology or outcome in primary retinoblastoma tumours. Br J Cancer 2002;87:779-82.
• Lillington DM, Micallef IN, Carpenter E, et al. Genetic susceptibility to Hodgkin's disease and secondary neoplasias: FISH analysis reveals patients at high risk of developing secondary neoplasia. Ann Oncol 2002;13 Suppl 1:40-3.
• Mao X, Lillington D, Scarisbrick JJ, et al. Molecular cytogenetic analysis of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas: identification of common genetic alterations in Sezary syndrome and mycosis fungoides. Br J Dermatol 2002;147:464-75.
• Mao X, Lillington D, Child F, Russell-Jones R, Young B, and Whittaker S. Comparative genomic hybridization analysis of primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas: identification of common genomic alterations in disease pathogenesis. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2002;35:144-55.
• Stamouli MI, Ferti AD, Panani AD, et al. Application of multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridization in the cytogenetic analysis of primary gastric carcinoma. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 2002;135:23-7.
• Strefford JC, Lillington DM, Steggall M, et al. Novel chromosome findings in bladder cancer cell lines detected with multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridization. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 2002;135:139-46.
• Van Trappen PO, Ryan A, Carroll M, et al. A model for co-expression pattern analysis of genes implicated in angiogenesis and tumour cell invasion in cervical cancer. Br J Cancer 2002;87:537-44.

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