Francois Spitz, PhD

Professor of Human Genetics
Committee on Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology
Research and Scholarly Interests: Developmental Disorders, Epigenomics, Evolution, Genetic, Gene Expression Regulation, Gene Regulatory Networks, Genomics
Websites: Spitzlab website, Research Network Profile
Contact: fspitz@uchicago.edu
Graduate Programs: Genetics, Genomics & Systems Biology, UChicago Biosciences, Human Genetics

Our group is interested in understanding how the architecture of the genome contributes to the specificity and robustness of the gene expression programs that govern embryonic development and cell differentiation.

Vertebrate genomes contain hundreds of thousands of regulatory sequences that can influence the expression of genes sometimes located hundreds of kilobases away. Our main goal is to understand how the folding of the genome in specific domains and dynamic structures contributes to transform such a dispersed information into highly specific regulatory ensembles. We study as well how perturbations of these processes, notably due to chromosomal rearrangements, could lead to developmental or oncogenic pathologies, but may have also participated to animal evolution.

University of Geneva
Geneva - Switzerland
- Developmental Genetics
2006

Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6
Paris - France
PhD - Cellular and Molecular Genetics
1997

Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6
Paris - France
DEA - Cellular and Molecular Genetics
1993

HYENA detects oncogenes activated by distal enhancers in cancer.
HYENA detects oncogenes activated by distal enhancers in cancer. bioRxiv. 2023 Nov 28.
PMID: 38076958

Local retinoic acid signaling directs emergence of the extraocular muscle functional unit.
Local retinoic acid signaling directs emergence of the extraocular muscle functional unit. PLoS Biol. 2020 11; 18(11):e3000902.
PMID: 33201874

Chromosomes come together to help mice distinguish odours.
Chromosomes come together to help mice distinguish odours. Nature. 2019 01; 565(7740):439-440.
PMID: 30666054

Author Correction: A Myc enhancer cluster regulates normal and leukaemic haematopoietic stem cell hierarchies.
Author Correction: A Myc enhancer cluster regulates normal and leukaemic haematopoietic stem cell hierarchies. Nature. 2018 06; 558(7711):E4.
PMID: 29769714

Cnidarian Cell Type Diversity and Regulation Revealed by Whole-Organism Single-Cell RNA-Seq.
Cnidarian Cell Type Diversity and Regulation Revealed by Whole-Organism Single-Cell RNA-Seq. Cell. 2018 05 31; 173(6):1520-1534.e20.
PMID: 29856957

Thromboprophylaxis in Spinal Surgery.
Mosenthal WP, Landy DC, Boyajian HH, Idowu OA, Shi LL, Ramos E, Lee MJ. Thromboprophylaxis in Spinal Surgery. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2018 04 15; 43(8):E474-E481.
PMID: 27867070

A Myc enhancer cluster regulates normal and leukaemic haematopoietic stem cell hierarchies.
A Myc enhancer cluster regulates normal and leukaemic haematopoietic stem cell hierarchies. Nature. 2018 01 25; 553(7689):515-520.
PMID: 29342133

Two independent modes of chromatin organization revealed by cohesin removal.
Two independent modes of chromatin organization revealed by cohesin removal. Nature. 2017 11 02; 551(7678):51-56.
PMID: 29094699

The Shh Topological Domain Facilitates the Action of Remote Enhancers by Reducing the Effects of Genomic Distances.
The Shh Topological Domain Facilitates the Action of Remote Enhancers by Reducing the Effects of Genomic Distances. Dev Cell. 2016 12 05; 39(5):529-543.
PMID: 27867070

Formation of new chromatin domains determines pathogenicity of genomic duplications.
Formation of new chromatin domains determines pathogenicity of genomic duplications. Nature. 2016 Oct 13; 538(7624):265-269.
PMID: 27706140

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elected member
European Molecular Biology Organisation
2016