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Professor Adrian Bracken

Professor in Medical Molecular Genetics (Genetics)
29 WESTLAND ROW

 Adrian.Bracken@tcd.ie

 3531896 4121


Biography

In 2021, I was elected an EMBO Member for outstanding achievement in the life sciences. My lab has made several seminal discoveries in the field of cancer epigenetics. In particular, we provided key contributions to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of how Polycomb group proteins regulate cell-fate decisions in stem cells and in cancer. For example, in 2018, my lab discovered a new family of vertebrate specific Polycomb group proteins, called PALI1 and PALI2, that link nuclear receptor signalling and chromatin biology (Conway et al., Molecular Cell) and we are exploring how different Polycomb Repressive complexes (PRC2.1 and PRC2.2) interplay to direct deposition of the H3K27me3 epigenetic modification (Healy et al., 2019 and Glancy et al., 2023; Molecular Cell). My lab recently studied an incurable childhood cancer called 'H3-K27M-mutant diffuse midline glioma' and demonstrated that EZH2 inhibitor drugs are a mechanistically anchored treatment strategy, based on modelling the consequences of the H3-K27M cancer causing gene on the underlying biology (Brien et al., Nature Genetics, 2021). My lab is also focused on genetic predisposition to cancer and we are using our expertise in chromatin biology to explore the contribution of regulatory elements in the 'non-coding genome'. Additionally, several exciting ongoing projects in the lab are studying the roles of chromatin regulators in developmental disorders and cancer.

Research Tags

  Cancer Genetics   Cellular identity   Chromatin biology   Epigenetics   Gene expression control   Polycomb proteins   Stem Cell Biology   The EZH2 oncogene

Languages

Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
Italian Medium Medium Fluent
Glancy E, Wang C, Tuck E, Healy E, Amato S, Neikes HK, Mariani A, Mucha M, Vermeulen M, Pasini D, Bracken AP, PRC2.1- and PRC2.2-specific accessory proteins drive recruitment of different forms of canonical PRC1, MOLECULAR CELL, 2023, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Brien GL, Bressan RB, Monger C, Gannon D, Lagan E, Doherty AM, Healy E, Neikes H, Fitzpatrick DJ, Deevy O, Grant V, Marqués-Torrejón MA, Alfazema N, Pollard SM, Bracken AP., Simultaneous disruption of PRC2 and enhancer function underlies histone H3.3-K27M oncogenic activity in human hindbrain neural stem cells., Nature Genetics, 53, (8), 2021, p1221 - 1232, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Glancy, E. and Ciferri, C. and Bracken, A.P., Structural basis for PRC2 engagement with chromatin, Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 67, 2020, p135-144 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Lanigan F, Gallagher WM and Bracken AP., 'A method of predicting risk of recurrence of cancer', TCD and UCD, US 10,557,175, 2020, Jointly owned by TCD and UCD, Notes: [The invention relates to a method of predicting the risk of tumour recurrence in a subject. Specifically, the invention relates to a method of predicting the risk of early-stage node -negative breast cancer, prostate cancer and other tumour recurrence], Patent, GRANTED  URL
Healy E, Mucha M, Glancy E, Fitzpatrick DJ, Conway E, Neikes HK, Monger C, Van Mierlo G, Baltissen MP, Koseki Y, Vermeulen M, Koseki H, and Bracken AP. , PRC2.1 and PRC2.2 synergize to co-ordinate H3K27 tri-methylation, Molecular Cell, 2019, p437-452.e6 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Deevy O and Bracken AP., PRC2 functions in development and congenital disorders, Development, 146, (19), 2019, pdev181354 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Bracken AP, Brien GL and Verrijzer CP., Dangerous Liaisons: Interplay between SWI/SNF, NuRD and Polycomb in Chromatin Regulation and Cancer. , Genes & Development, 33, 2019, p1 - 24, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Lanigan F, Gallagher WM and Bracken AP., 'A method of predicting risk of recurrence of cancer,', TCD and UCD, EP3194621, 2019, Jointly owned by TCD and UCD, Notes: [The invention relates to a method of predicting the risk of tumour recurrence in a subject. Specifically, the invention relates to a method of predicting the risk of early-stage node -negative breast cancer, prostate cancer and other tumour recurrence], Patent, GRANTED  URL
Conway E, Jerman E, Healy E, Ito S, Holoch D, Oliviero G, Deevy O, Glancy E, Fitzpatrick DJ, Mucha M, Watson A, Rice AM, Chammas P, Huang C, Bracken AP., A Family of Vertebrate-Specific Polycombs Encoded by the LCOR/LCORL Genes Balance PRC2 Subtype Activities., Molecular Cell, 70, (3), 2018, p408-421 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Streubel G, Watson A, Jammula SG, Scelfo A, Fitzpatrick DJ, Oliviero G, McCole R, Conway E, Glancy E, Negri GL, Dillon E, Wynne K, Pasini D, Krogan NJ, Bracken AP*, Cagney G*. (* Equal last authors)., The H3K36me2 Methyltransferase Nsd1 Demarcates PRC2-Mediated H3K27me2 and H3K27me3 Domains in Embryonic Stem Cells., Molecular Cell, 70, (2), 2018, p371-379 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

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Healy E, Bracken AP., If You Like It Then You Shoulda Put Two "RINGs" on It: Delineating the Roles of vPRC1 and cPRC1, Molecular Cell, 77, (4), 2020, p685-687 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED
(ed.), Anticancer innovative therapy: Highlights from the ninth annual meeting, Cytokine Growth Factor Rev., Milan, Italy., 51, January, 2019, 2020, 1 - 9 p, Proceedings of a Conference, PUBLISHED
Brien GL, Bracken AP., The 3D Genome: EZH2 Comes into the Fold., Trends in Molecular Medicine, 25, (5), 2019, p362 - 365, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Streubel G, Bracken AP., MED23: a new Mediator of H2B monoubiquitylation., The EMBO Journal, 34, (23), 2015, p2863-2864 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Benitah, S.A., Bracken, A., Dou, Y., Huangfu, D., Ivanova, N., Koseki, H., Laurent, L., Lim, D.A., Meshorer, E., Pombo, A., Sander, M., Xu, G.L., Stem cell epigenetics: Looking forward, Cell Stem Cell, 14, (6), 2014, p706-709 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Turner SA, Bracken AP., A "complex" issue: deciphering the role of variant PRC1 in ESCs., Cell Stem Cell, 12, (2), 2013, p145-146 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED

  

Awards and Honours

Award Date
Elected an EMBO Member for outstanding achievement in the life sciences (Nominated by Nobel Prize Winner Thomas Cech). June 2021
Irish Research Council Advanced Laureate Awardee 2019-2023
Elected Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (FTCD) 2018-
EUROLIFE Distinguished Lecture Prize Awardee 2016