The research group of Dr. Marit Vermunt focuses on transcriptional regulation in cancer, more specifically leukemia. Dr. Vermunt and her group have a special interest in the transcription factor CTCF and DNA methylation. Both CTCF and DNA (de)methylation enzymes are often misregulated in malignancy. Since cancer-associated aberration of one epigenomic feature is likely to affect multiple other features, they investigate the connection and interdependence of CTCF, DThe research group of Dr. Marit Vermunt focuses on transcriptional regulation in cancer, more specifically leukemia. Dr. Vermunt and her group have a special interest in the transcription factor CTCF and DNA methylation. Both CTCF and DNA (de)methylation enzymes are often misregulated in malignancy. Since cancer-associated aberration of one epigenomic feature is likely to affect multiple other features, they investigate the connection and interdependence of CTCF, DNA methylation and transcription. Their recent findings revealed that loss of CTCF unleashes expression of upstream antisense transcripts (uasTrx), a poorly characterized subset of RNAs. Based on these findings they are now investigating whether such uasTrx exist in leukemia. By focusing on the epigenome at multiple levels, the research group studies the molecular mechanisms of leukemogenesis and aims to modulate the epigenome as a strategy to combat cancer.