Evan Healy

Chromatin profiling identifies putative dual roles for H3K27me3 in regulating cell type-specific genes and transposable elements in choanoflagellates Nature Communications - Here, the authors investigate chromatin-based gene regulation in the closest relative of animal, choanoflagellates. They uncover a putative dual role for the histone...

Very happy to see our paper published online natcomms.nature.com. Thank you to @wellcometrust.bsky.social for funding this work during my time with @robklose.bsky.social and David Booth! Thanks also to collaborators @garcialabms.bsky.social @alexdemendoza.bsky.social and the other authors!

1/ 🚀 AEBP2 isn’t what we thought.

You were told that AEBP2 promotes PRC2 activity on chromatin.

We found the opposite: the most prevalent AEBP2 isoform inhibits PRC2 activity.

👉 surl.li/cgwqcq

A thread 🧵

Epigenetics and Gene Regulation in Health and Disease: Linking Basic Mechanisms with Therapeutic Opportunities | Keystone Symposia Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Epigenetics and Gene Regulation in Health and Disease: Linking Basic Mechanisms with Therapeutic Opportunities, March 2026, in Geneva, with field leaders!

Come join us in Geneva for everything epigenetics and gene regulation. It will be a great meeting! Please repost!
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...

AEBP2-Directed H3K27me2 Defines a Specific Vulnerability in EZH2-mutant Lymphoma The catalytic subunit of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2), EZH2, is recurrently mutated in 25% of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL), causing increased H3K27me3 and decreased H3K27me2 levels. ...

🧵1/Exciting news in cancer epigenetics! Our latest research, "AEBP2-Directed H3K27me2 Defines a Specific Vulnerability in EZH2-mutant Lymphoma", is now available on www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... Here's a thread summarizing our findings!👇
#CancerResearch #Epigenetics #Chromatin #Lymphoma

Many proteins bind RNA, yet we still don’t know what RNAs most bind because methods map one RBP at a time. In @cp-cell.bsky.social, with the Jovanovic lab, we describe SPIDR – a method for mapping the RNA binding sites of dozens of RBPs in a single experiment. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

We are looking for new colleagues to come join us in Galway as group leaders (Junior and Senior). The Centre for Chromosome Biology is a great place and it is a good time to join. Please reach out if you want to chat about the opportunity!
www.nature.com/naturecareer...

I am looking for a new postdoc to join the lab. Interested in pluripotency, germ cells, and in investigating these in a genetically tractable cnidarian? Get in touch! We offer a long-term contract, excellent research environment, and a lovely city #Galway. www.urifranklab.org

My group is hiring a new Postdoc to work on gene regulation and chromatin in Nematostella. Please RT!
For more information see here:
gahanlab.com
tinyurl.com/34xke35d

Check out this 🧵 from @eimearlagan.bsky.social on our new Molecular Cell @cp-molcell.bsky.social paper! We show how the H3K27M Oncohistone reprograms chromatin in DMG, creating a specific dependency on CBX4/PCGF4-containing forms of cPRC1 👇

Excited to share our new paper out today in @cp-molcell.bsky.social! We show that the H3K27M oncohistone rewires cPRC1, creating a unique dependency on CBX4/PCGF4-containing complexes, and also reveal a previously unknown function of CBX4. Highlights below (1/11).

Delighted to share the latest preprint from the lab led by Janith Seneviratne

We reveal novel roles for #embryonic regulators DPPA2/4 in facilitating a H2AK119Ub primed #chromatin state when aberrantly up-regulated in non-small cell lung #cancers 🧬🔬 (1/6)

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Prof Jose Polo appointed as EMBL Australia Scientific Head | EMBL Australia Professor Jose Polo has been appointed as the new Scientific Head of EMBL Australia. A globally recognised leader in epigenetics and stem cell biology, Prof Polo brings extensive expertise and a passi...

👋 Meet our new Scientific Head - Professor Jose Polo!

A world leader in epigenetics & stem cell biology, Prof Polo (SAiGENCI, University of Adelaide, Monash University) brings his deep expertise & passion for advancing life sciences in Aus & beyond. 🌏

We're thrilled to have him on board! 👏

📣 A reminder about an open postdoctoral position in our group!

🧫 Are you interested in mechanisms of gene regulation, human facial development and disease? How our DNA shapes the way we look? Do you love chromatin and enhancers? 🧬

If so, reach out for an informal chat! 💬

longlab.co.uk

She Worked in a Harvard Lab to Reverse Aging, Until ICE Jailed Her (Gift Article) President Trump’s immigration crackdown ensnared Kseniia Petrova, a scientist who fled Russia after protesting its invasion of Ukraine. She fears arrest if she is deported there.

The Americans are doing to Kseniia what the Russians did to Brittney Griner for having 0.7 grams of cannabis oil. Except no one is coming to negotiate her freedom and Harvard is sitting on their hands. I am so ashamed. Please share this story.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/11/s...

Excited to share our preprint on the molecular architecture of heterochromatin in human cells 🧬🔬w/ @jpkreysing.bsky.social, @johannesbetz.bsky.social,
@marinalusic.bsky.social, Turoňová lab, @hummerlab.bsky.social @becklab.bsky.social @mpibp.bsky.social

🔗 Preprint here tinyurl.com/3a74uanv

1/ H3K27me3 mimicry has repeatedly emerged through evolution, but what's the physiological relevance?

We show that JARID2 and PALI1 mimic H3K27me3 to antagonise PRC2 in vivo and restrict the spread of Polycomb domains.
🧵
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Accessory subunits of PRC2 mimic H3K27me3 to restrict the spread of Polycomb domains https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.13.642955v1

Dynamic PRC1–CBX8 stabilizes a porous structure of chromatin condensates - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology Here the authors show that a gene-inactivating protein complex packs inactive genes into a dynamic and accessible structure. The study challenges the traditional views that restricted accessibility an...

We used cryoET and biophysical approaches in vitro together with molecular biology in differentiated cells to show that chromatin compacted by PRC1-CBX8 is porous and accessible while PRC1 is dynamic in it. 🧪🧬 #cryoET #Epigenetics #Polycomb www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thanks Dane!

Thanks Nir!

Please see 🧵by @evhealy.bsky.social about our new paper exploring the role of PRC1 and PRC2 in non-dividing cells 👇

#CancerResearch #Chromatin #EZH2 #PRC1 #PRC2 #Quiescence #EZH2Inhibitors

8/ Thanks and congrats to all amazing authors and collaborators who made this possible;

@rachelmccole.bsky.social , @jamesnolan.bsky.social , @conwayer1.bsky.social , Gerry Brien, Hannah Neikes and the labs of Lindsey James, @davidovichlab.bsky.social , Michiel Vermeulen and Diego Pasini

A conserved switch to less catalytically active Polycomb repressive complexes in non-dividing cells McCole et al. show an evolutionarily conserved shift to less enzymatically active Polycomb repressive complexes in quiescent cells. They propose that the non-enzymatic functions of EZH1-PRC2 and canon...

7/ Thanks for reading! We’re excited to continue exploring these mechanisms in future work. Check out the full paper in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social for more details ! 📖

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

6/ We hope these insights will guide future cancer treatment strategies, especially in understanding how drugs interact with dividing vs. non-dividing cells. 💡

5/ Why is this important? It suggests that PRC2 inhibitors might not be effective in cancers containing non-dividing cells. ⚠️

4/ We propose that the non-enzymatic functions of EZH1-PRC2 and canonical PRC1 complexes play a critical role in maintaining long-term repression of Polycomb target genes in non-dividing cells.

3/ Our data shows that in quiescent cells (non-dividing), there’s a shift to less enzymatically active PRC1 (the canonical CBX containing forms) and PRC2 (containing EZH1). These changes appear to be evolutionarily conserved. 🧬

2/ We discovered that non-dividing cells are refractory to PRC2 inhibitors, meaning H3K27me2/3 are not reduced and gene expression is unchanged. This indicates that replicative dilution, not active H3K27 demethylation, is the main mechanism for H3K27me2/3 reduction upon inhibition of PRC2🔬

🧵 1/ We’re excited to share that our new paper with @adrianbracken.bsky.social lab is out 🎉 In this study (which began over 10 years ago!), we explore the biology of PRC2 and PRC1 in non-dividing cells. We also explore the effects of PRC2 inhibitor drugs on these cells. Here’s what we found👇