Timothy Ley, M.D.
Dr. Ley is a hematologist, oncologist and cancer biologist. He is an internationally known expert in the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other blood-related disorders. Dr. Ley’s research group was one of the first to focus on the reference sequence of the human genome to systematically identify the mutations responsible for the initiation and progression of cancer, focusing primarily on AML. To better understand the role of these mutations, Dr. Ley and his colleagues have constructed several mouse models of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). These mice have many features of the human disease, and have been valuable for understanding the genetic pathways altered in this disease. In addition, Dr. Ley’s laboratory has long been interested in the tools and methods needed to correct single gene defects. They currently are using both genetic approaches and expression profiling to identify the homologous recombination “signature” to improve the efficiency of this process in both embryonic and hematopoietic stem cells.
Dr. Ley is the Lewis T. and Rosalind B. Apple Professor of Oncology in the Department of Medicine, and is chief of the Section of Stem Cell Biology in the Division of Oncology. He is also Director of the Embryonic Stem Cell Core at the Siteman Cancer Center, and Professor of Genetics. Dr. Ley received his B.A. degree from Drake University in 1974, and his M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in 1978. He did his internship and residency in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, was a Clinical Associate at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a Hematology-Oncology Fellow at Washington University Medical Center, and a Senior Investigator at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute before moving to Washington University in 1986.
An extensive list of Dr. Ley's publications is available through the Washington University Divisions of Hematology and Oncology.
Selected Publications
Chen K, Wallis JW, Kandoth C, Kalicki-Veizer JM, Mungall KL, Mungall AJ, Jones SJ, Marra…
BreakFusion: Targeted Assembly-based Identification of Gene Fusions in Whole Transcriptome Paired-end Sequencing Data.
Bioinformatics. 2012 May 4. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed | View Abstract
Young MA, Larson DE, Sun CW, George DR, Ding L, Miller CA, Lin L, Pawlik…
Background Mutations in Parental Cells Account for Most of the Genetic Heterogeneity of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.
Cell Stem Cell. 2012 Apr 26. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed | View Abstract
Walter MJ, Shen D, Ding L, Shao J, Koboldt DC, Chen K, Larson DE, McLellan…
Clonal Architecture of Secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
N Engl J Med. 2012 Mar 14. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed | View Abstract
Ding L, Ley TJ, Larson DE, Miller CA, Koboldt DC, Welch JS, Ritchey JK, Young…
Clonal evolution in relapsed acute myeloid leukaemia revealed by whole-genome sequencing.
Nature. 2012 Jan 11. doi: 10.1038/nature10738. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed | View Abstract
Zhang J, Ding L, Holmfeldt L, Wu G, Heatley SL, Payne-Turner D, Easton J, Chen…
The genetic basis of early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Nature. 2012 Jan 11;481(7380):157-63. doi: 10.1038/nature10725. PubMed | View Abstract
Graubert T, Shen D, Ding L, Okeyo-Owuor T, Lunn CL, Shao J, Krysiak K, Harris…
Recurrent mutations in the U2AF1 splicing factor in myelodysplastic syndromes
Nature Genetics. 2011 Dec 11. [Advanced online publication] PubMed | View Abstract
Larson DE, Harris CC, Chen K, Koboldt DC, Abbott TE, Dooling DJ, Ley TJ, Mardis…
SomaticSniper: Identification of Somatic Point Mutations in Whole Genome Sequencing Data.
Bioinformatics. 2011 Dec 6. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed | View Abstract
Welch JS, Westervelt P, Ding L, Larson DE, Klco JM, Kulkarni S, Wallis J, Chen…
Use of Whole-Genome Sequencing to Diagnose a Cryptic Fusion Oncogene
JAMA. 2011 Apr 20;305(15):1577-84. PubMed | View Abstract
Link DC, Schuettpelz LG, Shen D, Wang J, Walter MJ, Kulkarni S, Payton JE, Ivanovich…
Identification of a Novel TP53 Cancer Susceptibility Mutation Through Whole-Genome Sequencing of a Patient With Therapy-Related AML
JAMA. 2011 Apr 20;305(15):1568-1576. PubMed | View Abstract
Wartman LD, Larson DE, Xiang Z, Ding L, Chen K, Lin L, Cahan P, Klco…
Sequencing a mouse acute promyelocytic leukemia genome reveals genetic events relevant for disease progression.
J Clin Invest. 2011 Mar 23. pii: 45284. doi: 10.1172/JCI45284. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed | View Abstract
Walter MJ, Ding L, Shen D, Shao J, Grillot M, McLellan M, Fulton R, Schmidt…
Recurrent DNMT3A mutations in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.
Leukemia. 2011 Jul;25(7):1153-8. doi: 10.1038/leu.2011.44. Epub 2011 Mar 18. PubMed | View Abstract
Welch JS, Yuan W, Ley TJ.
PML-RARA can increase hematopoietic self-renewal without causing a myeloproliferative disease in mice.
J Clin Invest. 2011 Mar 1. pii: 42953. doi: 10.1172/JCI42953. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed | View Abstract
Ramsingh G, Koboldt DC, Trissal M, Chiappinelli KB, Wylie T, Koul S, Chang LW, Nagarajan…
Complete characterization of the microRNAome in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia.
Blood. 2010 Dec 9;116(24):5316-26. Epub 2010 Sep 28. PubMed | View Abstract
Ley TJ, Ding L, Walter MJ, McLellan MD, Lamprecht T, Larson DE, Kandoth C, Payton…
DNMT3A Mutations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
N Engl J Med. 2010 Nov 10. PubMed | View Abstract
Fehniger TA, Wylie T, Germino E, Leong JW, Magrini VJ, Koul S, Keppel CR, Schneider…
Next-generation sequencing identifies the natural killer cell microRNA transcriptome.
Genome Res. 2010 Nov;20(11):1590-604. Epub 2010 Oct 8. PubMed | View Abstract
