Dr Edwin Chen

I completed my BSc in Anatomy and Cell Biology at McGill University and PhD in Medical Science at the University of Toronto, followed by postdoctoral research posts at the University of Cambridge and Harvard University, where I investigated the molecular biology of a group of age-associated cancers called the chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms. After my postdoctoral training, I established my independent research group at the University of Leeds in 2015, and joined Canterbury Christ Church University as as a Reader in Biomedical Science in September 2023.

My teaching focus is on the cellular and molecular biology of normal human physiology and in disease states. I am currently the module leader for Year 2 Human Diseases module and Year 3 Current Science Issues in Human Biology module. 

My main research interest is to understand the molecular processes that govern how blood stem cells turn into leukaemia cells and how to translate these insights into the development of new cancer therapies. To date, my work has illuminated mechanisms whereby aberrant JAK/STAT signalling and homeobox gene expression influence diverse aspects of cell function, including DNA replication and repair, lineage fate choice and immune activity.

Important contributions from our work include:

(i) demonstrating the existence of specific signatures associated with distinct myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) subtypes (Cancer Cell, 2010),

(ii) revealing specific MPN subtypes lacked obligate cell cycle checkpoint activity in response to oncogene-induced replicative and DNA damage stresses (PNAS, 2014; Cell Rep, 2015; Oncogene, 2016),

(iii) developing novel murine model for accelerated leukaemic progression concomitant with loss of genome integrity and chromosome instability in MPN and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemias (Oncogene, 2006a; Oncogene, 2006b; Blood, 2015), and

(iv) in understanding the mechanism of action of calreticulin mutations in leukaemogenic progression (Cancer Discov, 2016; Blood, 2018; Blood Adv, 2021).

I have over 20 years of research experience in blood cancer research, have published >25 papers in leading cancer and haematology journals, and our group’s work has been presented at major international conferences, including the American Society of Haematology, European Hematology Association and American Association for Cancer Research.

I am a member of the British Society of Haematology, and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.