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Reposted by Ahmed Alsayadi

LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Great conference this week, filled with inspiring talks and poster presentations from @nucancer.bsky.social researchers. Congratulations to our PhDs, @phoebejsnow.bsky.social & @alsayadi.bsky.social, recipients of PGR Outstanding Contribution Awards in recognition of their hard work and dedication.

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LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

A multicultural lab group comes with so many advantages! We don’t only share valuable ideas and different prospective, but we also get to share traditional food and learn about each other's cultures. Thanks @alsayadi.bsky.social for introducing us to Arabic coffee and sharing sweet treats!

Arabic coffee, dates and traditional sweet treats.

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Reposted by Ahmed Alsayadi

LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Shout out this #InternationalMensDay to Ahmed Alsayadi (@alsayadi.bsky.social) and Nick Brittain — brilliant cancer researchers and all-round great humans. Your skill, drive, and good vibes make the LEGEND team what it is 💙

Ahmed is happily working away in our tissue culture lab

Nick is working in the lab pipetting reagents for his current experiment.

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LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

We’re excited to welcome a talented new postdoctoral researcher, Monika Gonka, to the LEGEND group! She’ll be leading data-driven projects and supporting the team as a bioinformatics research assistant. Welcome aboard, Monika!

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Ahmed Alsayadi @alsayadi.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Had a great time networking at #NEPG2025 with my PhD colleague Phoebe Snow! Proud to represent our LEGEND (Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation) group led by Dr Lisa Russell. @ljrusselllab.bsky.social Loved sharing my poster and connecting with passionate researchers! #PhD #Networking

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Newcastle University Centre for Cancer @nucancer.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

The Wolfson Childhood Cancer Research Centre at the Herschel Building has earned the Silver LEAF Award for sustainable lab practices! 🥈 Reducing waste, saving energy & going greener every day. 💚 #Sustainability #GreenLabs #LEAFAward #ScienceForGood #NetZero #EcoInnovation

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LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

We’re proud to share the inspiring story of Dr. Dan Mattison — diagnosed with leukaemia at age 14, and now a Foundation Year 2 doctor. Dan and his family are welcoming a £4.1 million investment from @cancerresearchuk.org. Read more here: www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articl...

ncl.ac.uk

Alumnus who survived teenage cancer welcomes multi-million funding

A Newcastle University graduate who survived cancer as a teen and was inspired to become a doctor by those who cared for him, is welcoming a multi-million pound investment from Cancer Research UK.

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Ahmed Alsayadi @alsayadi.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Integrating ultra-long read sequencing technology into our workflow will significantly enhance our ability to unravel complex genomic rearrangements! Excited to have loaded DNA from leukaemic cells onto the PromethION24 device for the first time! #UltraLongSequencing #LEGENDgroup #NUGenomicsCore

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LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

September is #ChildhoodCancerAwarenessMonth. Our team joined the @childcancernth.bsky.social campaign #PaintTheToonGold to show support for children with cancer and their families. Together, we can raise awareness and keep pushing research forward.

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LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

We were excited to share our recent research findings and projects at #CLRUK25 in York. Dr. Brittain and Dr. Alqahtani were thrilled to present their projects, supported by @cancerresearchuk.org and @bloodcanceruk.bsky.social. Dr. Marchetti brought great energy while chairing the first session.

@letimarchetti.bsky.social and Frederik van Delft are chairing the first session at CLRUK25

Dr. Nicholas Brittain is presenting his CR_UK funded project titled (Mechanistic investigation of super-enhancer dynamics in B-ALL)

@dr-ahlamq.bsky.social is presenting her BloodCancer_UK funded project titled (Investigating the consequences of CEBP dysregulation in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia)

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Reposted by Ahmed Alsayadi

LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Research is not a solo effort. It takes teamwork. It takes belief. It takes collaboration. We know what it takes to beat blood cancer and so does @dr-ahlamq.bsky.social whose work is funded by @bloodcanceruk.bsky.social grant co-led by Lisa & @letimarchetti.bsky.social #BloodCancerAwarenessMonth

Lisa is the Principal Investigator of the group
but she still enjoys spending time in the lab to drive
the work to beat blood cancer.

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Reposted by Ahmed Alsayadi

LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

Our lab was delighted to host a visit from @cancerresearchuk.org fundraisers, campaigners, and patient advocates Sue Duncombe and Patrick McGuire. It was a pleasure to share our research, to give an insight into our daily work and highlight how CRUK support helps us move science forward.

Camille is showing how the transfected cell lines appear under a florescent microscope

Ahmed and Nick are explaining how we visualize genome editing using gel electrophoresis

Ahmed and Nick are explaining the technical aspect of using gel electrophoresis

Leti is explaining how we use blood cancer cell lines to explore options for better therapy interventions

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Reposted by Ahmed Alsayadi

LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Thrilled to have contributed to ground-breaking research led by Dr Joan Boyes (@universityofleeds.bsky.social‬), just out in Nature (‪@nature.com‬)! 🧬 We show that tiny DNA fragments, naturally cut from the genome, can linger—causing more damage & helping leukaemia progress.

Dr Zeqian Gao, Dr Joan Boyes, and Dylan Casey (PhD student) in the lab

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LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Recent nice weather called for a social outing of the LEGEND group, filled with fun, sport and a MUST stop for ice cream by the coast 🍦. We also had our first lab retreat at Cockle Park, featuring good scientific discussion 🧬 and a visit by our @ukri.org MRC collaborators from Edinburgh ✨

Deserved rest after an exciting volleyball tournament

Ice-cream is the best way to end a great social outing with the lab

The group got bigger! We count, from the left: Camille (Research Technician), Ahmed (PhD student), Leti (PostDoc), Lisa (Group Leader), Ahlam (PostDoc), Nick (PostDoc) and Phoebe (PhD student)

MRC collaborators from Edinburgh, Chris A.Brackley (left) and Rodrigo Rivas Barbosa (right)

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Reposted by Ahmed Alsayadi

LEGEND: Leukaemia EpiGenomic & ENhancer Dysregulation group @ljrusselllab.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

We recently welcomed Dr Nicholas Brittain to the LEGEND group, who has joined as a Research Associate to investigate mechanisms driving super-enhancers in paediatric leukaemia as part of a research project funded by @cancerresearchuk.org

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Ahmed Alsayadi @alsayadi.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

Thrilled to have presented my PhD poster at the Saudi-UK Science, Engineering, and Computing Conference 2025—and proud to have won 3rd place! 🥉🎉 Grateful for the opportunity to share my research and connect with brilliant minds. #PhDLife #Research #Networking

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