Head of Paul O'Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre: Prof Mhairi Copland
Leukaemias are devastating diseases of the haemopoietic system that arise from normal stem and progenitor cells that have acquired corrupted cell fate decisions. These aberrant cells, called leukaemic stem cells (LSCs), initiate and drive the process of leukaemogenesis. Current therapies fail to efficiently eradicate LSCs and therefore new curative treatments need to be identified. The research programmes within the Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre (POG-LRC) collectively focus on understanding the fundamental mechanisms governing normal haemopoietic stem cell and LSC functions, identifing novel therapeutic targets against LSCs and exploiting these targets in clinical trials.