Hematology & Oncology

Defining molecular features driving leukemogenesis to improve outcomes in acute leukemia our lab investigates pathways that differ between malignant and healthy cells, promote chemotherapy resistance and support leukemia stem cell biology. Current projects focus on intracellular metabolism including amino acid and nucleotide metabolism, cellular energetics and polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism, the unfolded protein response and its role in stress adaptation and mitochondrial regulation critical for cancer cell survival. We also examine how these mechanisms influence healthy hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells to guide rational therapeutic strategies.

Research profile

Investigating how pharmacological agents reshape cellular behavior in health and disease, the Taylor Lab at WashU Medicine studies the mechanisms that drive normal and malignant hematopoiesis to improve treatment outcomes for children with cancer. Childhood leukemia arises when genetic mutations disrupt normal blood cell formation and convert healthy cells into cancerous ones, yet major questions remain about how these mutations hijack cellular machinery to sustain disease. Transcription factors — molecular switches that control gene expression — play a central role in this process. In healthy blood development, they guide the programs that determine cell fate, but in leukemia these switches are corrupted to promote malignant growth. The Taylor Lab works to define how these transcriptional networks are rewired and how they can be therapeutically redirected to restore healthy function.