Prof Beth Psaila - Exploring the MEGAverse - new insights into megakaryocytes and platelets, and their roles in cancer

Wednesday, 15 July 2026, 12.30pm to 1.30pm

Megakaryocytes are very large, rare bone marrow cells that produce platelets, the tiny cell fragments in our blood that help with clotting. Although platelets do not have their own nucleus (where genetic material is stored in most of our cells), we recently discovered that they can pick up small pieces of DNA from the bloodstream, including DNA released by cancer cells and from a developing foetus.
Our research looks at how megakaryocytes grow so large and copy their DNA many times without dividing, and what this means for the stability of their genetic material. Megakaryocytes also play an important role in myeloproliferative neoplasms, or MPNs, a group of chronic blood cancers that affect around 4,000 people in the UK each year. We are studying how megakaryocytes communicate with cancer stem cells and surrounding bone marrow cells, and how these interactions may cause the disease to worsen, especially into a condition called myelofibrosis. Understanding these interactions helps shed light on the best approaches to develop more effective therapies.

Speaker(s): Prof Bethan Psaila (University of Oxford)

Series: NDCLS Seminar Series

Department: Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences (Unit)

Organiser: Dr Arlene Glasgow

Host: Prof Deborah Gill