Sebastian Öther-Gee Pohl has now completed three years of his EACR-Boehringer Ingelheim Postdoctoral Fellowship, funding that is awarded to support excellent postdoctoral researchers in laboratories throughout Europe.
Sebastian is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Colorectal Stem Cell Transformation Lab (Kevin Myant Lab) at the CRUK Scotland Centre, Institute of Genetics and Cancer (IGC), within the University of Edinburgh. We recently caught up with him to hear about the progress he has made in his research during these first three years.
Can you tell us about the topic of the research you are undertaking during your fellowship?
My current research involves investigating whether the disruption of RNA splicing can switch immune-cold colorectal cancers (CRC) into immune-hot tumours. For this, I am generating models in which conditional degron tags (CDTs) are fused to a specific splicing factor in tumour organoids and in a genetically engineered mouse model of CRC. The overall goal is to test whether we can increase the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade in CRC by modulating RNA splicing and to determine the mechanisms which allow this switch in therapy-response to occur.
My future plans are to continue this research at the IGC and further develop the findings which we made during this fellowship. I will also look to establish a more independent research direction.
How did the fellowship impact your career progression?
This fellowship has been beneficial in allowing me to pursue an area of research which I intend to continue in the future, as well as giving me the opportunity to collaborate with an excellent group of scientists in both academia and industry. This will hopefully be beneficial for future progression as an independent researcher.
What were the highlights of your fellowship?
The highlights of were being able to progress this research in a more independent capacity and establish excellent collaborations. Another highlight would be attending and presenting at the EACR congress in Turin during my first year.
EACR Postdoctoral Fellowships
To find out more about the EACR’s other Postdoctoral Fellowships, click here.
