Vernon Fong
A5074971499- Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
- Hedgehog Signaling Pathway Studies
- Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment
- RNA modifications and cancer
- Ferroptosis and cancer prognosis
- MicroRNA in disease regulation
- Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
- Cerebrospinal fluid and hydrocephalus
- Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- Lymphatic System and Diseases
- Renal and related cancers
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research
- Chromatin Remodeling and Cancer
- RNA Research and Splicing
SickKids Foundation
2019-2025
Hospital for Sick Children
2019-2025
University of Toronto
2023-2025
Abstract Sonic hedgehog medulloblastoma encompasses a clinically and molecularly diverse group of cancers the developing central nervous system. Here, we use unbiased sequencing transcriptome across large cohort 250 tumors to reveal differences among molecular subtypes disease, demonstrate previously unappreciated importance non-coding RNA transcripts. We identify alterations within cAMP dependent pathway ( GNAS , PRKAR1A ) which converge on GLI2 activity show that 18% have genetic event...
Posterior fossa group A (PFA) ependymoma is a lethal brain cancer diagnosed in infants and young children. The lack of driver events the PFA linear genome led us to search its 3D for characteristic features. Here, we reconstructed genomes from diverse childhood tumor types uncovered global topology that highly reminiscent stem progenitor cells variety human tissues. remarkable feature exclusively present are type B ultra long-range interactions PFAs (TULIPs), regions separated by great...
Abstract Transcription factors are frequent cancer driver genes, exhibiting noted specificity based on the precise cell of origin. We demonstrate that ZIC1 exhibits loss-of-function (LOF) somatic events in group 4 (G4) medulloblastoma through recurrent point mutations, subchromosomal deletions and mono-allelic epigenetic repression (60% G4 medulloblastoma). In contrast, highly similar SHH distinct diametrically opposed gain-of-function mutations copy number gains (20% Overexpression...
Abstract Medulloblastomas (MB) are the most prevalent malignant pediatric brain tumors, originating in either cerebellum or dorsal brainstem. They classified into four distinct subgroups (WNT, SHH, Group 3, and 4), characterized by unique gene expression profiles, metastatic patterns, recurrence rates. Metastatic progression of MB is frequently associated with poor prognosis, affecting approximately 30% patients at diagnosis. Despite considerable research on primary there currently no...
Abstract Posterior Fossa Group A (PFA) ependymomas are pediatric brain tumors with extremely poor survival outcomes. As protein-coding mutations in PFA exceedingly rare, the underlying etiology of these remains elusive. Elevated CpG island methylation and depletion H3K27me3 have been described PFA, leading to hypothesis that may be driven by a dysregulated epigenetic state. In this study, we sought determine how three-dimensional (3D) genome features (such as DNA loops, domains,...