Robert Welner Ph.D.

Robert Welner Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Associate Scientist (C), Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, Bone and Autoimmunity Center (CAMBAC) , School of Medicine
Associate Scientist (C), Comprehensive Diabetes Center , School of Medicine
Associate Scientist (C), O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center , School of Medicine
Associate Scientist, Cancer Cell Biology , O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center
Associate Scientist (C), Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) , General Clinical Research Center
Associate Professor (P), Medicine - Hematology & Oncology , Department of Medicine
Section Chief of Basic Sciences, Medicine - Hematology & Oncology , Department of Medicine

Overview

I received my Ph.D. degree in Immunology and Microbiology from the University of Oklahoma with Dr. Paul Kincade. I then moved to Harvard Medical School for my post-doctoral training with Dr. Dan Tenen.

Selected Publications

Academic Article

Year	Title	Altmetric
2022	WINNER: A network biology tool for biomolecular characterization and prioritization. Frontiers in Big Data. 5. 2022
2022	Autophagy inhibition impairs leukemia stem cell function in FLT3-ITD AML but has antagonistic interactions with tyrosine kinase inhibition. Leukemia. 36:2621-2633. 2022
2022	Ex Vivo Expansion of Phenotypic and Transcriptomic Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells. Experimental Hematology. 115:1-13. 2022
2022	Deciphering Metabolic Adaptability of Leukemic Stem Cells. Frontiers in Oncology. 12. 2022
2022	Isocitrate dehydrogenase mutations are associated with altered IL-1β responses in acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia. 36:923-934. 2022
2022	Response to NK cell content does not seem to influence engraftment in ex vivo T cell depleted haploidentical stem cell transplantation. Stem Cell Reports. 17:446-447. 2022
2022	Suppression of multiple anti-apoptotic BCL2 family proteins recapitulates the effects of JAK2 inhibitors in JAK2V617F driven myeloproliferative neoplasms. Cancer Science. 113:597-608. 2022
2022	Microenvironmental CXCL12 deletion enhances Flt3-ITD acute myeloid leukemia stem cell response to therapy by reducing p38 MAPK signaling. Leukemia. 2022
2022	Serine-threonine Kinase Receptor-Associated Protein is a Critical Mediator of APC Mutation–Induced Intestinal Tumorigenesis Through a Feed-Forward Mechanism. Gastroenterology. 162:193-208. 2022
2021	Identification of a targetable KRAS-mutant epithelial population in non-small cell lung cancer. Communications Biology. 4. 2021
2021	Metabolic alterations mediated by STAT3 promotes drug persistence in CML. Leukemia. 35:3371-3382. 2021
2021	Inflammatory Cytokines Shape an Altered Immune Response During Myeloid Malignancies. Frontiers in Immunology. 12. 2021
2021	Core-binding factor leukemia hijacks the T-cell–prone PU.1 antisense promoter. Blood. 138:1345-1358. 2021
2021	Improved hematopoietic stem cell transplantation upon inhibition of natural killer cell-derived interferon-gamma. Stem Cell Reports. 16:1999-2013. 2021
2021	TNF-α-induced alterations in stromal progenitors enhance leukemic stem cell growth via CXCR2 signaling. Cell Reports. 36. 2021
2021	PU.1 enforces quiescence and limits hematopoietic stem cell expansion during inflammatory stress. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 218. 2021
2021	E-cadherin is regulated by GATA-2 and marks the early commitment of mouse hematopoietic progenitors to the basophil and mast cell fates. Science Immunology. 6. 2021
2020	Bone marrow Tregs mediate stromal cell function and support hematopoiesis via IL-10. JCI Insight. 5. 2020
2020	Lysine acetyltransferase Tip60 is required for hematopoietic stem cell maintenance. Blood. 136:1735-1747. 2020
2020	Selective LXR agonist DMHCA corrects retinal and bone marrow dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. JCI Insight. 5. 2020
2020	Single-Cell RNA-Seq Mapping of Human Thymopoiesis Reveals Lineage Specification Trajectories and a Commitment Spectrum in T Cell Development. Immunity. 52:1105-1118.e9. 2020
2019	Mapping Distinct Bone Marrow Niche Populations and Their Differentiation Paths. Cell Reports. 28:302-311.e5. 2019
2019	SIRT1 regulates metabolism and leukemogenic potential in CML stem cells. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 129:2685-2701. 2019
2018	The IL-33-PIN1-IRAK-M axis is critical for type 2 immunity in IL-33-induced allergic airway inflammation. Nature Communications. 9. 2018
2018	The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor SHARP1 is an oncogenic driver in MLL-AF6 acute myelogenous leukemia. Nature Communications. 9. 2018
2018	C/EBPγ is dispensable for steady-state and emergency granulopoiesis. The hematology journal : the official journal of the European Haematology Association / EHA. 103:e331-e335. 2018
2017	ZNF143 protein is an important regulator of the myeloid transcription factor C/EBPα. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 292:18924-18936. 2017
2017	Regulation of normal and leukemic stem cells through cytokine signaling and the microenvironment. International Journal of Hematology. 105:566-577. 2017
2016	Targeted BMI1 inhibition impairs tumor growth in lung adenocarcinomas with low CEBPα expression. Science Translational Medicine. 8:350ra104. 2016
2016	The second hit of DNA methylation. Molecular & cellular oncology. 3. 2016
2016	Multiple sclerosis: getting personal with induced pluripotent stem cells.. Cell Death and Disease. 7:e2185. 2016
2016	Acetylation of C/EBPα inhibits its granulopoietic function. Nature Communications. 7. 2016
2016	The DNA ligase IV syndrome R278H mutation impairs B lymphopoiesis via error-prone nonhomologous end-joining. Journal of Immunology. 196:244-255. 2016
2015	Hematopoietic Differentiation Is Required for Initiation of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Cell Stem Cell. 17:611-623. 2015
2015	Multiple sclerosis: Getting personal with induced pluripotent stem cells. Cell Death and Disease. 6. 2015
2015	Dissecting the role of aberrant DNA methylation in human leukaemia. Nature Communications. 6. 2015
2015	Treatment of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia by Blocking Cytokine Alterations Found in Normal Stem and Progenitor Cells. Cancer Cell. 27:671-681. 2015
2014	β-catenin contributes to lung tumor development induced by EGFR mutations. Cancer Research. 74:5891-5902. 2014
2014	The Runx-PU.1 pathway preserves normal and AML/ETO9a leukemic stem cells. Blood. 124:2391-2399. 2014
2014	9-1-1: HSCs respond to emergency calls. Cell Stem Cell. 14:415-416. 2014
2014	Stem and progenitor cell subsets are affected by JAK2 signaling and can be monitored by flow cytometry. PLoS One. 9. 2014
2014	Sox4 Is a Key Oncogenic Target in C/EBPα Mutant Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Cancer Cell. 25:257. 2014
2013	Sox4 Is a Key Oncogenic Target in C/EBPα Mutant Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Cancer Cell. 24:575-588. 2013
2013	C/EBPΑ is required for development of dendritic cell progenitors. Blood. 121:4073-4081. 2013
2013	Sustained PU.1 Levels Balance Cell-Cycle Regulators to Prevent Exhaustion of Adult Hematopoietic Stem Cells. Molecular Cell. 49:934-946. 2013
2013	In vivo generation of transplantable human hematopoietic cells from induced pluripotent stem cells. Blood. 121:1255-1264. 2013
2012	CD86 is expressed on murine hematopoietic stem cells and denotes lymphopoietic potential. Blood. 119:4889-4897. 2012
2011	Chronic exposure to a TLR ligand injures hematopoietic stem cells. Journal of Immunology. 186:5367-5375. 2011
2010	Functional diversity of stem and progenitor cells with B-lymphopoietic potential. Immunological Reviews. 237:10-21. 2010
2009	Asynchronous RAG-1 expression during B lymphopoiesis. Journal of Immunology. 183:7768-7777. 2009
2009	A possible contribution of retinoids to regulation of fetal B lymphopoiesis. European Journal of Immunology. 39:2515-2524. 2009
2009	A differentiation pathway for B1 cells in adult bone marrow 2009
2009	Balance between Id and E proteins regulates myeloid-versus-lymphoid lineage decisions. Blood. 113:1016-1026. 2009
2008	Lymphoid precursors are directed to produce dendritic cells as a result of TLR9 ligation during herpes infection. Blood. 112:3753-3761. 2008
2008	Evolving views on the genealogy of B cells. Nature Reviews Immunology. 8:95-106. 2008
2008	CXCL9 and CXCL10 expression are critical for control of genital herpes simplex virus type 2 infection through mobilization of HSV-specific CTL and NK cells to the nervous system. Journal of Immunology. 180:1098-1106. 2008
2008	Retinoids accelerate B lineage lymphoid differentiation. Journal of Immunology. 180:138-145. 2008
2007	Stem Cells on Patrol. Cell. 131:842-844. 2007
2007	Interferon-producing killer dendritic cells (IKDCs) arise via a unique differentiation pathway from primitive c-kit^HiCD62L⁺ lymphoid progenitors. Blood. 109:4825-4831. 2007
2007	Early lymphopoiesis in adult bone marrow. Inmunología. 26:135-144. 2007
2006	Primitive lymphoid progenitors in bone marrow with T lineage reconstituting potential. Journal of Immunology. 177:2880-2887. 2006
2006	Life before the pre-B cell receptor checkpoint: Specification and commitment of primitive lymphoid progenitors in adult bone marrow. Seminars in Immunology. 18:2-11. 2006
2005	Age-related loss of bone marrow pre-B- and immature B-lymphocytes in the autoimmune-prone flaky skin mutant mice. Autoimmunity. 38:399-408. 2005
2005	In vitro differentiation and measurement of B cell progenitor activity in culture.. Current protocols in immunology / edited by John E. Coligan ... [et al.]. Chapter 22. 2005
2005	Isolation of prolymphocytes from bone marrow and fetal liver.. Current protocols in immunology / edited by John E. Coligan ... [et al.]. Chapter 22. 2005
2005	Lymphoid progenitors and primary routes to becoming cells of the immune system. Current Opinion in Immunology. 17:100-107. 2005
2005	Measurement of natural killer cell progenitor activity in culture.. Current protocols in immunology / edited by John E. Coligan ... [et al.]. Chapter 22. 2005
2004	Hyperactivation and proliferation of lymphocytes from the spleens of flaky skin (fsn) mutant mice. Autoimmunity. 37:227-235. 2004
2002	Antinuclear autoantibodies in flaky skin (fsn) mutant mice. Autoimmunity. 35:175-181. 2002

Chapter

Year	Title	Altmetric
2020	Single-cell analysis of nonhematopoietic cells in bone marrow. 43-49. 2020

Research Overview

Altered hematopoietic environment in leukemia.
Our research has focused on stem cell biology, transcription factors, and gene regulation differences between normal adult cells and their diseased counterpart. Major advances have been made recently in describing the transcriptional networks dictating self-renewal of stem cells, and a number of important transcriptional regulators have been characterized during hematopoiesis; meanwhile, understanding how these processes become dysregulated in their function in hematopoietic stem cells has not been well established. Our research projects investigate the role of steady-state and perturbed microenvironments on stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, and more importantly the interplay between these contradictory forces within the stem cell niche.