Tom Vulliamy obtained a Zoology degree at Oxford University and a PhD working with Martin Raff at UCL. Since then has worked in human genetics, initially with Jim Gusella at Harvard Medical School and then with Lucio Luzzatto at the Hammersmith Hospital in London. He worked as a Clinical Scientist running a small molecular diagnostic laboratory while collaborating with Inderjeet Dokal and Philip Mason in the cloning of disease genes. He was appointed Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (FMD) in 2006 and promoted to Professor in 2015. He retired in 2021 but continues to be associated with Queen Mary as a Professor Emeritus.
Summary
Professor Tom Vulliamy combines research into genetic diseases with teaching and training of students and doctors. The main focus of his research is the identification of disease genes that cause bone marrow failure. Positional cloning projects involving families with dyskeratosis congenita have shown that molecules involved in telomere maintenance are defective in this disease. Functional characterisation of these mutations describes how defective telomeres result in a premature aging phenotype in humans. The work has been translated into molecular diagnosis for at risk individuals. Next generation sequencing strategies are currently being employed in further gene discovery projects.
Patients with inherited bone marrow failure syndromes have a significantly increased risk of developing cancer, particularly acute myeloid leukaemia. This link has lead us into studying familial forms of leukaemia. This has helped define the molecular basis of this disease as well as identifying novel candidate genes.
MBBS, FunMed, Genetics Module including workshop Human Development (HD2) Graduate Entry Programme
MBBS Student Mentor
SBCS Module BIO363, Molecular basis of disease
Topics for PhD supervision: Functional characterisation of mutations in dyskeratosis congenita
Research
Research Interests:
Telomere biology; bone marrow failure; identification of disease genes; familial leukaemia
Recent and ongoing research projects:
The genetic basis and pathophysiology of dyskeratosis congenita, aplastic anaemia and related disorders.
The genetic and functional basis familial myelodysplasia and leukaemia
Research Group Members
Dr Hemanth Tummala, Postdoctoral Associate
Jenna Alnajar, Research Technician
Nikolas Ponikos, Postdoctoral Research Assistant - Computational
Publications
Tummala H, Collopy LC, Walne AJ, Ellison A, Cardoso S, Aksu T, Yarali N, Aslan D, Fikret Akata R, Teo J, Songyang Z, Pontikos N, Fitzgibbon J, Tomita K, Vulliamy T, Dokal I. (2018) Homozygous OB-fold variants in telomere protein TPP1 are associated with dyskeratosis congenita-like phenotypes. Blood. 132:1349-1353.
Tummala H, Dokal AD, Walne A, Ellison A, Cardoso S, Amirthasigamanipillai S, Kirwan M, Browne I, Sidhu JK, Rajeeve V, Rio-Machin A, Seraihi AA, Duncombe AS, Jenner M, Smith OP, Enright H, Norton A, Aksu T, Özbek NY, Pontikos N, Cutillas P, Dokal I, Vulliamy T (2018) Genome instability is a consequence of transcription deficiency in patients with bone marrow failure harboring biallelic ERCC6L2 variants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 115:7777-7782.
Tummala H, Walne A J, Williams M, Bockett N, Collopy L, Cardoso S, Ellison A, Wynn R, Leblanc T, Fitzgibbon J, Kelsell D P, van Heel D A, Payne E, Plagnol V, Dokal I and Vulliamy T (2016) DNAJC21 mutations link a cancer prone bone marrow failure syndrome to corrupted 60S ribosome subunit maturation. Am J Hum Genet, 99: 115-124
Tummala H, Walne AJ, Collopy LC, Cardoso SR, de la Fuente J, Lawson S, Powell J, Cooper N, Foster A, Mohammed S, Plagnol V, Vulliamy T, Dokal I (2015) Poly(A)-specific ribonuclease deficiency impacts on telomere biology causing dyskeratosis congenita. J Clin Invest, 125:2151-2160.
Walne AJ, Vulliamy T, Beswick R, Kirwan M and Dokal I (2010) Mutations in C16orf57 and normal length telomeres unify a subset of patients with dyskeratosis congenita, poikiloderma with neutropenia and Rothmund-Thomson syndrome Hum. Mol. Genet 19:4453-61
Vulliamy T, Beswick R, Kirwan M, Marrone M, Digweed M, Walne A, Dokal I (2008) Mutations in the telomerase component NHP2 cause the premature ageing syndrome dyskeratosis congenita. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 105:8073-8078.
Vulliamy T, Marrone A, Szydlo R, Walne A, Mason PJ, Dokal I (2004) Disease anticipation is associated with progressive telomere shortening in families with dyskeratosis congenita due to mutations in TERC. Nature Genetics 36:447-449
Vulliamy TJ, Marrone A, Dokal I, Mason PJ (2002) Association between aplastic anaemia and mutations in telomerase RNA. Lancet, 359:2168-2170.
Vulliamy T, Marrone A, Goldman F, Dearlove A, Bessler M, Mason PJ, Dokal I (2001) The RNA component of telomerase is mutated in autosomal dominant dyskeratosis congenita. Nature 413:432-435.
Heiss NS*, Knight SW*, Vulliamy TJ*, Klauk SM, Wiemann S, Mason PJ, Poustka A, Dokal I (1998) X-linked dyskeratosis congenita is caused by mutations in a highly conserved gene with putative nucleolar functions. Nature Genetics 19:32-38
