Reprogramming Stars #23: Charting Cell Fate Crossroads from the Interplay Between Epigenetics, Transcription, and 3D Chromatin Architecture—An Interview with Dr. Effie Apostolou

REPROGRAMMING STAR: Dr. Effie Apostolou is an Associate Professor of Molecular Biology at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, US, and the Group Leader of the Chromatin Organization & Cell Fate Decisions Lab. The main focus of the Apostolou lab is to dissect the critical interplay between TFs, 3D chromatin organization, and transcription during either (i) maintenance of cell fate (selfrenewal) or (ii) transition to a new fate. Their goal is to build 4D molecular roadmaps to address specific questions such as, How do cells maintain or change identity? What factors dictate cell fate decisions? What is the interplay between transcription, epigenetic factors, and 3D chromatin organization in development and disease?
Dr. Apostolou’s group uses several dynamic cellular systems, including induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) reprogramming, differentiation, immune response, tumorigenesis, and cell cycle. They use high throughput sequencing technologies such as 4C-Seq, HiC, HiChIP, ChIP-seq, andPRO-seq and integrative computational analysis to address regulatory mechanisms of cell type-specific gene expression programs. In addition, they employ advanced CRISPR/(d)Cas9-based genetic and epigenetic approaches for precise modulation and functional testing. Dr Apostolou’s lab is also tackling functional heterogeneity and rare stem-like populations in vivo and ex vivo by expanding into single-cell technologies.