Email

bruno.distefano@bcm.edu

Positions

Assistant Professor and CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research

Molecular and Cellular Biology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, United States

Assistant Professor and CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research

Center for Cell and Gene Therapy (CAGT)
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Member

The Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center (STaR)
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Member

Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Member

Center for Cancer Epigenetics
MD Anderson
Houston, Texas United States

Addresses

Office (Lab)

One Baylor Plaza
N1020.01
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 798-7771

Lab (Office)

One Baylor Plaza
N1020
Houston, TX 77030
United States

Education

Postdoctoral Training at Harvard Medical School

Boston, Massachusetts United States

PhD from Centre for Genomic Regulation and Pompeu Fabra University

06/2014 - Barcelona, Spain

MSc from University of Pavia

Pavia, Italy

BSc from University of Pavia

Pavia, Italy

Professional Interests

• Stem cell biology
• Cellular reprogramming
• Development
• Post-transcriptional regulation
• Cancer biology
• Epigenetics and chromatin regulation

Professional Statement

During development and lineage specification, pluripotent and adult stem cells generate the diverse arrays of specialized cells of the adult body.
Once a cell type is specified, the mechanisms that restrict and maintain cell fate are important in ensuring tissue integrity, and their dysregulation often results in disease, particularly cancer.

Our current research aims to understand the post-transcriptional & epigenetic mechanisms that govern stem cell potency and cell fate decisions, and determine how to exploit these mechanisms to develop new therapeutic strategies.
​
Towards this goal, our lab employs diverse approaches and tools including human and mouse embryonic stem cells, adult stem and progenitor cell cultures, 3D organoids, cellular reprogramming, transdifferentiation, in vivo mouse models, genome editing with CRISPR-Cas nucleases, and genome-wide techniques (e.g. scRNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, CLIP-seq).

Websites

Selected Publications

• Di Stefano B, Luo EC, Haggerty C, Aigner S, Charlton J, Brumbaugh J, Ji F, Jiménez IR, Clowers KJ, Huebner AJ, Clement K, Lipchina I, de Kort MAC, Anselmo A, Pulice J, Gerli MFM, Gu H, Gygi SP, Sadreyev RI, Meissner A, Yeo GW, Hochedlinger K. "The RNA helicase DDX6 controls cellular plasticity by modulating P-body homeostasis.." Cell Stem Cell. 2019 Nov 7; Pubmed PMID: 31588046
• Di Stefano B "Cell identity and plasticity uncoupled." Nature Cell Biology. 2022 Sep 8; Pubmed PMID: 36075977
• Wang D, Wu W, Callen E, Pavani R, Zolnerowich N, Kodali S, Zong D, Wong N, Noriega S, Nathan WJ, Matos-Rodrigues G, Chari R, Kruhlak MJ, Livak F, Ward M, Caldecott K, Di Stefano B, Nussenzweig A. "Active DNA demethylation promotes cell fate specification and the DNA damage response.." Science. 2022 Dec 2; Pubmed PMID: 36454826
• Kodali S, Proietti L, Valcarcel G,..., Sardina JL, Grebien F, Di Stefano B. "RNA sequestration in P-bodies sustains myeloid leukaemia." Nat Cell Biol. 2024 Oct;26(10) Pubmed PMID: 39169219

Funding

Investigating Post-Transcriptional Mechanisms Governing Cancer Stem Cell Self-Renewal And Differentiation

Grant funding from Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas

Role of RNA sequestration in hematopoiesis

Grant funding from The Nancy Chang, Ph.D. Award for Research Excellence

Role of RNA Sequestration in Hematopoiesis.

Grant funding from American Society of Hematology Scholar Award

Defining the Role of RNA Sequestration in Mammalian Cell Fate. - #1R35GM147126-01

NIH