Postdoctoral Associate

Deploys next-generation sequencing techniques to understand brain tumor biology and telomere mechanics

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About Floris Barthel, M.D.

Dr. Barthel received his M.D. degree from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam prior to joining the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to pursue a postdoctoral position in glioma genomics. He research is focused on transcriptional and epigenetic profiling of gliomas and in understanding the genomic basis of telomere maintenance in cancer.

Education and Experience

2016-present: Postdoctoral Associate. The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut.

2014-2016: Senior Research Assistant. MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.

2007-2014: M.D., Medicine. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Selected Publications

Highlighted Abstract

Cancer cells survive cellular crisis through telomere maintenance mechanisms. We report telomere lengths in 18,430 samples, including tumors and non-neoplastic samples, across 31 cancer types. Telomeres were shorter in tumors than in normal tissues and longer in sarcomas and gliomas than in other cancers. Among 6,835 cancers, 73% expressed telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), which was associated with TERT point mutations, rearrangements, DNA amplifications and transcript fusions and predictive of telomerase activity. TERT promoter methylation provided an additional deregulatory TERT expression mechanism. Five percent of cases, characterized by undetectable TERT expression and alterations in ATRX or DAXX, demonstrated elongated telomeres and increased telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA). The remaining 22% of tumors neither expressed TERT nor harbored alterations in ATRX or DAXX. In this group, telomere length positively correlated with TP53 and RB1 mutations. Our analysis integrates TERT abnormalities, telomerase activity and genomic alterations with telomere length in cancer.

View full list of publications

Search MagazineJune 18, 2019
Connected through Science
When Isabelle Chen, a senior at The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Conn., met Ann Bresnahan ‘69 during a science alumnae panel discussion at Bresnahan’s 50-year high school reunion, the two knew that they shared a passion for science.
Blog PostJune 05, 2019
Multigene panels for hereditary breast cancer risk
Genetic testing is becoming increasingly accessible for patients as the list of clinical indications and number of genes are growing, and the cost of testing is decreasing.
Featured ArticleMay 29, 2019
Making a community impact beyond the bench
A JAX postdoctoral associate was recently awarded a fellowship in Science Policy from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics that will allow him to advocate for support of science research with federal officials and congressional staff.
Research HighlightMay 20, 2019
Revealing cellular traits, one cell at a time
Scientists have developed an expanded toolkit that enables investigations of cellular traits at the single cell level at an unprecedented level of detail.

Tech CornerJune 17, 2019
The genome of Eve (the mouse)
C57BL/6—aka Black 6—is the most widely used mouse strain in research. Its reference genome was published in 2003 and has been carefully curated over the years since.
Featured ArticleJune 04, 2019
MCGI Advances clinical genomics education in Maine
Oncology practices in Maine will continue to have access to advanced educational curricula on genomic tumor testing in patient care through the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative (MCGI), thanks to a gift from the Maine Cancer Foundation.
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Search MagazineMay 22, 2019
JAX scientists speak out on the crisis of opioid addiction
JAX scientists are intensifying their efforts to shed light on the genetic and neurobiological causes of addiction, along with the impact of environmental influences.
Research HighlightMay 02, 2019
How can we take full advantage of EHR Data?
There has been an explosion of digital medical data in recent years, taking many forms. Much of the most valuable data—clinical patient data—is currently stored in electronic health record (EHR) systems, providing a theoretical gold mine for large-scale integration and analyses of patient traits, diseases, treatments, progression over time, outcomes and more.