The focus of this junior research group is to understand the alterations in the bone marrow microenvironment in myeloid malignancies. Increasing evidence suggests a critical role of cell populations that form the hematopoietic stem cell niche, not only in normal hematopoiesis, but also in the initiation of myelodysplastic syndrome and the progression to leukemia. We focus in changes in cell adhesive interactions between hematopoietic progenitors and cells that form the hematopoietic niche.
Another aim of this group is to study alteration in cell metabolism of hematopoietic progenitors due to inflammation in health and myeloid malignancies. Our overall aim is to understand the complex interactions between cell populations in the bone marrow that promote disease pathogenesis.