Olivier Saulnier Post-doctoral fellow
Course and current status
Postdoctoral fellow in Cancer genomics
Decoding cellular architecture and exploring developmental features of Medulloblastoma
Dr. Michael D. Taylor - The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada
2019-present
PhD student in Pediatric oncology
Deciphering the splicing landscape of Ewing sarcoma
Dr. Olivier Delattre & Dr. Franck Tirode - INSERM U830, Institut Curie, France
2015-2018
Master student in Bioinformatics
Impact of atopy on risk of glioma: a Mendelian randomization study
Pr. Richard S. Houlston - The Institute of Cancer Research, UK
2013-2014
Apprenticeship in Molecular biology
Molecular characterization of anaplastic oligodendrogliomas
Pr. Jean-Yves Delattre & Pr. Marc Sanson & Dr. Ahmed Idbaih - Paris Brain Institute, France
2012-2013
Research intern in Biotechnology
Transcriptomic perturbation of take-all disease on wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Pr. Philippe Mora - Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, France
2011-2012
Research intern in Biotechnology
Impact of heavy metals on the bacterial diversity of soils in northern France
Dr. Anne Pando - Research Institute for Development, France
2010-2011
Scientific summary
Research interests
My research is focused on decoding the cellular architecture and resolving developmental origins of pediatric cancers.
During my PhD, in the lab of Olivier Delattre, I became an highly-skilled scientist in transcriptional regulation and alternative splicing processes of pediatric bone tumors. We identified a novel function for ERG transcription factors in alternative splicing. In addition, we demonstrated that this novel function is altered in Ewing sarcoma harboring ERG-fusion proteins and that this process participates in tumor plasticity.
Link of the publication in Nucleic Acids Research
On other hand, we also discovered that cancers characterized by oncogenic chimeric transcription factors drive tumor-specific transcription, processing, and translation of silent genomic regions. These results established a new mechanism of transcriptomic regulation, by aberrant transcription factors, that is very important for diagnosis and potentially for therapeutic targeting in these highly aggressive cancers.
Link of the publication in Molecular Cell and the Preview in Molecular Cell. This work led to an international patent
To pursue my long-standing interest in pediatric oncology and transcriptional regulation, I joined the lab of Dr. Michael Taylor, a world leading group in childhood brain cancer research. We have demonstrated that Group 4 medulloblastoma (MB) mutations converge on the CBFA complex. We have found that Group 4 MB is a ball of undifferentiated rhombic lip subventricular zone progenitor cells that persist after birth due to the failure of physiological differentiation pathways coordinated by the CBFA complex. The human specific expansion of the RL suggests MB is a direct consequence of our species evolution.
Link of the publication in Nature and the News & Views in Nature
Currently, we are working on submission of two additional manuscripts, on which I'm co-first author.
This work led to an international patent
Links
- Google Scholar: Scholar profile
- Twitter: @OSaulnier_
- Personal website: ol.saulnier.free.fr
