Benjamin Levine EbertProfessor

The Ebert lab focuses on the molecular basis and treatment of hematologic malignancies, with a particular focus on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
In large-scale genetic analyses of patient samples, the lab has identified somatic mutations that predict prognosis and response to therapies in MDS patients.

Their research also focuses on a pre-malignant state for hematologic malignancies, clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), which also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In addition to human genetic studies, the lab studies the biological mechanisms underlying the transformation of hematopoietic cells by specific somatic mutations. The Ebert lab elucidated the mechanism of action of lenalidomide, a derivative of thalidomide. Lenalidomide and related drugs modulate the function of an E3 ubiquitin ligase, inducing drug-dependent degradation of specific substrates that are essential for the survival of multiple myeloma and MDS cells, representing the first drugs that bind and modulate the function of an E3 ubiquitin ligase.