Oliver Bell, PhD

Associate Professor of Cancer Biology

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Overview

We are interested in the mechanisms that underlie epigenetic memory of cell fate decisions. Chromatin modifications facilitate the regulation of differential expression of key control genes required for cellular differentiation. Diverse chemical modifications of nucleosomes and DNA play a fundamental role in gene regulation, shaping DNA accessibility and signaling to maintain gene expression states.

We study the dynamic regulation of chromatin modifications and how these marks contribute to epigenetic inheritance of gene silencing. Our lab uses synthetic biology approaches in mouse embryonic stem cells to manipulate chromatin modifications and study their dynamics and inheritance.

Awards

  • EMBO: EMBO Long-term Fellowship, 2009
     – 2010
  • HFSPO: Human Frontier Science Program Long-term fellowship, 2010
     – 2012
  • HFSPO: Human Frontier Science Program Career Development Award, 2014
     – 2018

Education and Training

  • Howard Hughes Medical Institutes and Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA — Postdoctoral Fellowship — 06/2013
  • Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland — PhD — 01/2008 — Biochemistry

Research Keywords

  • Epigenetics, Heterochromatin, Chemical Biology, Gene Silencing, Maintenance of Cell Identity

Publications

  • Auto-inhibition of PRC2 by the broadly expressed long isoform of AEBP2. EMBO J. 2025 Dec; 44(23):6979-7020.. View in PubMed
  • Dynamic PRC1-CBX8 stabilizes a porous structure of chromatin condensates. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2025 Mar; 32(3):520-530.. View in PubMed
  • Loss of cohesin regulator PDS5A reveals repressive role of Polycomb loops. Nat Commun. 2023 12 09; 14(1):8160.. View in PubMed
  • Heterochromatin definition and function. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2023 10; 24(10):691-694.. View in PubMed
  • ZFP462 safeguards neural lineage specification by targeting G9A/GLP-mediated heterochromatin to silence enhancers. Nat Cell Biol. 2023 01; 25(1):42-55.. View in PubMed
  • Reprogramming CBX8-PRC1 function with a positive allosteric modulator. Cell Chem Biol. 2022 04 21; 29(4):555-571.e11.. View in PubMed
  • Parallel PRC2/cPRC1 and vPRC1 pathways silence lineage-specific genes and maintain self-renewal in mouse embryonic stem cells. Sci Adv. 2020 04; 6(14):eaax5692.. View in PubMed
  • Discovery and Characterization of a Cellular Potent Positive Allosteric Modulator of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 Chromodomain, CBX7. Cell Chem Biol. 2019 10 17; 26(10):1365-1379.e22.. View in PubMed
  • Phenotype delineation of ZNF462 related syndrome. Am J Med Genet A. 2019 10; 179(10):2075-2082.. View in PubMed
  • Pathway-Based High-Throughput Chemical Screen Identifies Compounds That Decouple Heterochromatin Transformations. SLAS Discov. 2019 09; 24(8):802-816.. View in PubMed