Professor Duncan Baird

2026

• Liddiard, K. et al. 2026. Telomere-driven replicative crisis is driven by large-scale changes in genomic architecture. Genome Research (10.1101/gr.281373.125)
• Parker, H. et al., 2026. High-risk molecular features may eclipse genomic complexity in predicting chronic lymphocytic leukemia outcomes; UK clinical trial insights. Leukemia 40 , pp.816-826. (10.1038/s41375-026-02906-5)
• Longhurst, H. J. et al., 2026. TeloNet is born: why all specialities need to be aware of telomere biology disorders. Frontiers in Medicine 13 1780232. (10.3389/fmed.2026.1780232)
• Coquette, C. et al., 2026. Telomere dysfunction and proteostasis decline define distinct pathways of cellular senescence in the human respiratory tract. Aging Cell 25 (5) e70512. (10.1111/acel.70512)
• Ngo, G. H. P. et al. 2026. Mitotic microhomology-mediated break-induced replication promotes chromoanasynthesis. Nature Communications (10.1038/s41467-026-70086-y)

2025

• Baird, D. 2025. Telomere dynamics in human health and disease. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology 17 (8) a041701. (10.1101/cshperspect.a041701)
• Cleal, K. , Kearsey, A. and Baird, D. M. 2025. GW: ultra-fast chromosome-scale visualization of genomics data. Nature Methods 22 , pp.1390-1392. (10.1038/s41592-025-02749-5)
• Adam, N. et al., 2025. hTERT Increases TRF2 to induce telomere compaction and extend cell replicative lifespan. Aging Cell 24 (8) e70105. (10.1111/acel.70105)
• Pazhakh, V. et al., 2025. A novel TERT variant associated with a telomere biology disorder and challenges in variant classification. eJHaem 6 (1) e1066. (10.1002/jha2.1066)
• Myers, K. C. et al., 2025. Clinical use of ZSCAN4 for telomere elongation in hematopoietic stem cells. NEJM Evidence 4 (3)(10.1056/EVIDoa2400252)

2024

• Louise, C. et al., 2024. Letter to the Editor: Telomere length and DNA methylation epitype both provide independent prognostic information in CLL patients; data from the UK CLL, ARCTIC and ADMIRE clinical trials. British Journal of Haematology 205 (5), pp.2072-2076. (10.1111/bjh.19765)
• Duckworth, A. et al., 2024. Starship: Study of telomeres and tole of sex hormones in pulmonary fibrosis [Abstract]. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 209 A3695. (10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2024.209.1_meetingabstracts.a3695)

2023

• Hulme, C. H. et al., 2023. The upscale manufacture of chondrocytes for allogeneic cartilage therapies. Tissue Engineering Part C Methods 29 (9), pp.424-437. (10.1089/ten.TEC.2023.0037)
• Roger, L. et al. 2023. T cell memory revisited using single telomere length analysis. Frontiers in Immunology 14 1100535. (10.3389/fimmu.2023.1100535)
• Aquilanti, E. et al., 2023. Telomerase inhibition is an effective therapeutic strategy in TERT promoter mutant-glioblastoma models with low tumor volume. Neuro-Oncology 25 (7), pp.1275-1285. (10.1093/neuonc/noad024)

2022

• Liddiard, K. et al. 2022. POLQ suppresses genome instability and alterations in DNA repeat tract lengths. NAR Cancer 4 (3) zcac020. (10.1093/narcan/zcac020)
• Parker, C. et al., 2022. BCL-3 loss sensitises colorectal cancer cells to DNA damage by targeting homologous recombination. DNA Repair 115 103331. (10.1016/j.dnarep.2022.103331)
• Cleal, K. and Baird, D. 2022. Dysgu: efficient structural variant calling using short or long reads. Nucleic Acids Research 50 (9) e53. (10.1093/nar/gkac039)
• Pepper, A. G. S. et al., 2022. Combined analysis of IGHV mutations, telomere length and CD49d identifies long-term progression-free survivors in TP53 wild-type CLL treated with FCR-based therapies. Leukemia 36 , pp.271-274. (10.1038/s41375-021-01322-1)
• Geiller, H. E. et al. 2022. ATRX modulates the escape from a telomere crisis. Plos Genetics 18 (11) e1010485. (10.1371/journal.pgen.1010485)

2021

• Garcia Martin, I. et al. 2021. Symptoms of prenatal depression associated with shorter telomeres in female placenta. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22 (14) 7458. (10.3390/ijms22147458)
• Norris, K. et al. 2021. High-throughput STELA provides a rapid test for the diagnosis of telomere biology disorders. Human Genetics 140 , pp.945-955. (10.1007/s00439-021-02257-4)
• Ngo, G. H. P. , Grimstead, J. W. and Baird, D. M. 2021. UPF1 promotes the formation of R loops to stimulate DNA double-strand break repair. Nature Communications 12 3849. (10.1038/s41467-021-24201-w)
• Liddiard, K. et al. 2021. Tracking telomere fusions through crisis reveals conflict between DNA transcription and the DNA Damage Response. NAR Cancer 3 (1) zcaa044. (10.1093/narcan/zcaa044)
• Ashworth, I. et al. 2021. Telomere length in Cystic Fibrosis patients - are patients with CF ageing too quickly?. International Journal of Aging Research 4 90. (10.28933/ijoar-2021-06-2005)

2020

• Galletti, G. et al., 2020. Two subsets of stem-like CD8+ memory T cell progenitors with distinct fate commitments in humans. Nature Immunology 21 , pp.1552-1562. (10.1038/s41590-020-0791-5)
• Ahmed, R. et al., 2020. CD57+ Memory T Cells Proliferate In Vivo. Cell Reports 33 (11) 108501. (10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108501)
• Adishesh, M. et al., 2020. Human endometrial carcinogenesis is associated with significant reduction in long non-coding RNA, TERRA. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21 (22) 8686. (10.3390/ijms21228686)
• Cleal, K. and Baird, D. 2020. Catastrophic endgames: emerging mechanisms of telomere-driven genomic instability. Trends in Genetics 36 (5), pp.347-359. (10.1016/j.tig.2020.02.001)
• Harrington, L. and Baird, D. 2020. Editorial overview: the instability of the cancer genome: it starts at the end. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development 60 , pp.iii-vi. (10.1016/j.gde.2020.02.020)
• Kwok, M. et al., 2020. Integrative analysis of spontaneous CLL regression highlights genetic and microenvironmental interdependency in CLL. Blood 135 (6), pp.411-428. (10.1182/blood.2019001262)

2019

• Escudero, L. et al., 2019. Telomere fusions associate with coding sequence and copy number alterations in CLL. Leukemia 33 , pp.2093-2097. (10.1038/s41375-019-0423-y)
• Norris, K. et al. 2019. Telomere length predicts for outcome to FCR chemotherapy in CLL. Leukemia 33 , pp.1953-1963. (10.1038/s41375-019-0389-9)
• Cleal, K. et al. 2019. Chromothripsis during telomere crisis is independent of NHEJ, and consistent with a replicative origin. Genome Research 29 (5), pp.737-749. (10.1101/gr.240705.118)
• Liddiard, K. et al. 2019. DNA Ligase 1 is an essential mediator of sister chromatid telomere fusions in G2 cell cycle phase. Nucleic Acids Research 47 (5), pp.2402-2424. (10.1093/nar/gky1279)
• Mansell, E. et al., 2019. DNA damage signalling from the placenta to foetal blood as a potential mechanism for childhood leukaemia initiation. Scientific Reports 9 4370. (10.1038/s41598-019-39552-0)
• Pringle, S. et al., 2019. Salivary gland stem cells age prematurely in primary Sjögren's syndrome. Arthritis & Rheumatology 71 (1), pp.133-142. (10.1002/art.40659)

2018

• Ngo, G. et al. 2018. PARP inhibition prevents escape from a telomere-driven crisis and inhibits cell immortalisation. Oncotarget 9 (101), pp.37549-37563. (10.18632/oncotarget.26499)
• Garcia-Martin, I. et al., 2018. Meformin and insulin treatment prevent placental telomere attrition in boys exposed to maternal diabetes. PLoS ONE 13 (12) : e0208533. (10.1371/journal.pone.0208533)
• Harvey, A. et al., 2018. PARP1 is required for preserving telomeric integrity but is dispensable for A-NHEJ. Oncotarget 9 (78), pp.34821-34837. (10.18632/oncotarget.26201)
• Baird, D. M. and Hendrickson, E. A. 2018. Telomeres and Chromosomal Translocations. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 1044 , pp.89-112. (10.1007/978-981-13-0593-1_7)
• Costa del Amo, P. et al., 2018. Human TSCM cell dynamics in vivo are compatible with long-lived immunological memory and stemness. PLoS Biology 16 (6) e2005523. (10.1371/journal.pbio.2005523)
• Nelson, N. D. et al., 2018. The C-terminal extension unique to the long isoform of the shelterin component TIN2 enhances its interaction with TRF2 in a phosphorylation- and dyskeratosis congenita-cluster-dependent fashion. Molecular and Cellular Biology 38 (12) e00025-18. (10.1128/MCB.00025-18)
• Baird, D. M. 2018. Telomeres and genomic evolution. Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences 373 (1741) 20160437. (10.1098/rstb.2016.0437)
• McCully, M. L. et al. 2018. CCR8 expression defines tissue-resident memory T cells in human skin. Journal of Immunology 200 (5), pp.1639-1650. (10.4049/jimmunol.1701377)
• Pilsworth, J. A. et al., 2018. TERT promoter mutation in adult granulosa cell tumor of the ovary. Modern Pathology 31 , pp.1107-1115. (10.1038/s41379-018-0007-9)
• Cleal, K. , Norris, K. and Baird, D. 2018. Telomere length dynamics and the evolution of cancer genome architecture. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 19 (2), pp.482-482. (10.3390/ijms19020482)

2017

• Garcia Martin, I. et al. 2017. Telomere length heterogeneity in placenta revealed with high-resolution telomere length analysis. Placenta 59 , pp.61-68. (10.1016/j.placenta.2017.09.007)
• Hyatt, S. et al. 2017. Telomere length is a critical determinant for survival in multiple myeloma. British Journal of Haematology 178 (1), pp.94-98. (10.1111/bjh.14643)
• Williams, J. et al., 2017. Telomere length is an independent prognostic marker in MDS but not in de novo AML. British Journal of Haematology 178 (2), pp.240-249.
• Rice, C. et al., 2017. Structural and functional analysis of the human POT1-TPP1 telomeric complex. Nature Communications 8 14928. (10.1038/ncomms14928)
• Robinson, R. et al. 2017. Telomere erosion in NF1 tumorigenesis. Oncotarget 8 (25), pp.40132-40139. (10.18632/oncotarget.16981)
• Letsolo, B. et al., 2017. Extensive telomere erosion is consistent with localised clonal expansions in Barrett's metaplasia. Plos One 12 (3) e0174833.
• Fellows, C. R. et al., 2017. Characterisation of a divergent progenitor cell sub-populations in human osteoarthritic cartilage: the role of telomere erosion and replicative senescence. Scientific Reports 7 41421. (10.1038/srep41421)
• Lopez Anton, M. et al. 2017. Telomere length profiles in primary human peritoneal mesothelial cells are consistent with senescence. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 164 , pp.37-40. (10.1016/j.mad.2017.03.010)

2016

• Ahmed, R. et al. 2016. Human stem cell-like memory T cells are maintained in a state of dynamic flux. Cell Reports 17 (11), pp.2811-2818. (10.1016/j.celrep.2016.11.037)
• Nelson, D. M. et al., 2016. Mapping H4K20me3 onto the chromatin landscape of senescent cells indicates a function in control of cell senescence and tumor suppression through preservation of genetic and epigenetic stability. Genome Biology 17 158. (10.1186/s13059-016-1017-x)
• Liddiard, K. et al. 2016. Sister chromatid telomere fusions, but not NHEJ-mediated inter-chromosomal telomere fusions, occur independently of DNA ligases 3 and 4. Genome Research 26 , pp.588-600. (10.1101/gr.200840.115)

2015

• Strefford, J. C. et al., 2015. Telomere length predicts progression and overall survival in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: data from the UK LRF CLL4 trial. Leukemia 29 (12), pp.2411-2414. (10.1038/leu.2015.217)
• Martin-Ruiz, C. M. et al., 2015. Reproducibility of telomere length assessment: an international collaborative study. International Journal of Epidemiology 44 (5), pp.1673-1683. (10.1093/ije/dyu191)
• Martin-Ruiz, C. M. et al., 2015. Reproducibility of telomere length assessment: Authors’ response to Damjan Krstajic and Ljubomir Buturovic. International Journal of Epidemiology 44 (5), pp.1739-1741. (10.1093/ije/dyv170)
• Martin-Ruiz, C. M. et al., 2015. Is Southern blotting necessary to measure telomere length reproducibly? Authors? Response to: Commentary: The reliability of telomere length measurements. International Journal of Epidemiology 44 (5), pp.1686-1687. (10.1093/ije/dyv169)
• Simpson, K. et al. 2015. Telomere fusion threshold identifies a poor prognostic subset of breast cancer patients. Molecular Oncology 9 (6), pp.1186-1193. (10.1016/j.molonc.2015.02.003)

2014

• Jones, R. E. et al. 2014. Escape from telomere-driven crisis is DNA Ligase III dependent. Cell Reports 8 (4), pp.1063-1076. (10.1016/j.celrep.2014.07.007)
• Lin, T. T. et al., 2014. Telomere dysfunction accurately predicts clinical outcome in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, even in patients with early stage disease. British Journal of Haematology 167 (2), pp.214-223. (10.1111/bjh.13023)
• Nussey, D. H. et al., 2014. Measuring telomere length and telomere dynamics in evolutionary biology and ecology. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 5 (4), pp.299-310. (10.1111/2041-210X.12161)
• Pepper, C. J. , Baird, D. M. and Fegan, C. D. 2014. Telomere analysis to predict chronic lymphocytic leukemia outcome: a STELA test to change clinical practice?. Expert Review of Hematology 7 (6), pp.701-703. (10.1586/17474086.2014.969705)

2013

• Singh, U. et al., 2013. CGGBP1 phosphorylation constitutes a telomere-protection signal. Cell Cycle 13 (1), pp.96-105. (10.4161/cc.26813)
• Roger, L. et al. 2013. Extensive telomere erosion in the initiation of colorectal adenomas and its association with chromosomal instability. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 105 (16), pp.1202-1211. (10.1093/jnci/djt191)

2012

• Britt-Compton, B. et al. 2012. Extreme telomere erosion in ATM-mutated and 11q-deleted CLL patients is independent of disease stage [Letter]. Leukemia 26 (4), pp.826-830. (10.1038/leu.2011.281)
• Tankimanova, M. et al. 2012. Mre11 modulates the fidelity of fusion between short telomeres in human cells. Nucleic Acids Research 40 (6), pp.2518-2526. (10.1093/nar/gkr1117)
• Jones, C. H. , Pepper, C. J. and Baird, D. M. 2012. Telomere dysfunction and its role in haematological cancer. British Journal of Haematology 156 (5), pp.573-587. (10.1111/j.1365-2141.2011.09022.x)
• Mocellin, S. et al., 2012. Telomerase reverse transcriptase locus polymorphisms and cancer risk: A field synopsis and meta-analysis. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 104 (11), pp.840-854. (10.1093/jnci/djs222)
• Pettigrew, K. A. et al., 2012. Differential tert promoter methylation and response to 5-aza-20-deoxycytidine in Acute Myeloid Leukemia cell lines: tert expression, telomerase activity, telomere length, and cell death. Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer 51 (8), pp.768-780. (10.1002/gcc.21962)

2011

• Sood, A. et al., 2011. Signalling of DNA damage and cytokines across cell barriers exposed to nanoparticles depends on barrier thickness. Nature Nanotechnology 6 (12), pp.824-833. (10.1038/nnano.2011.188)
• Svenson, U. et al., 2011. Blood cell telomere length is a dynamic feature. PLoS ONE 6 (6) e21485. (10.1371/journal.pone.0021485)

2010

• Lin, T. T. et al. 2010. Telomere dysfunction and fusion during the progression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia: evidence for a telomere crisis. Blood 116 (11), pp.1899-1907. (10.1182/blood-2010-02-272104)
• Letsolo, B. T. , Rowson, J. M. and Baird, D. M. 2010. Fusion of short telomeres in human cells is characterized by extensive deletion and microhomology, and can result in complex rearrangements. Nucleic Acids Research 38 (6), pp.1841-1852. (10.1093/nar/gkp1183)
• Cogan, N. et al., 2010. DNA damaging bystander signalling from stem cells, cancer cells and fibroblasts after Cr(VI) exposure and its dependence on telomerase. Mutation Research/Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis 683 (1-2), pp.1-8. (10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2009.09.012)
• Pepper, C. J. and Baird, D. M. 2010. Shortened telomeres: a driving force behind leukemia? [Editorial]. Future Oncology 6 (11), pp.1681-1686. (10.2217/fon.10.135)
• Takubo, K. et al., 2010. Chromosomal instability and telomere lengths of each chromosomal arm measured by Q-FISH in human fibroblast strains prior to replicative senescence. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 131 (10), pp.614-624. (10.1016/j.mad.2010.08.007)
• Williams, R. et al. 2010. Identification and clonal characterisation of a progenitor cell sub-population in normal human articular cartilage. PLoS ONE 5 (10) e13246. (10.1371/journal.pone.0013246)

2009

• Enoch, S. et al. 2009. Increased oral fibroblast lifespan is telomerase-independent. Journal of Dental Research 88 (10), pp.916-921. (10.1177/0022034509342979)
• Roberts, G. W. et al. 2009. Functional effector memory T cells enrich the peritoneal cavity of patients treated with peritoneal dialysis. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology 20 (9), pp.1895-1900. (10.1681/ASN.2008101127)
• Allen, N. D. and Baird, D. M. 2009. Telomere length maintenance in stem cell populations. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta-Molecular Basis of Disease 1792 (4), pp.324-328. (10.1016/j.bbadis.2009.02.004)
• Britt-Compton, B. et al. 2009. Short telomeres are preferentially elongated by telomerase in human cells. FEBS Letters 583 (18), pp.3076-3080. (10.1016/j.febslet.2009.08.029)
• Britt-Compton, B. et al. 2009. Telomere dynamics during replicative senescence are not directly modulated by conditions of oxidative stress in IMR90 fibroblast cells. Biogerontology 10 (6), pp.683-693. (10.1007/s10522-009-9216-4)
• Williams, R. et al. 2009. A sub-population of human articular cartilage cells display stem cell/progenitor characteristics. European Cells and Materials 18 (Supp 1), pp.65.

2008

• Wall, I. B. et al. 2008. Fibroblast dysfunction is a key factor in the non-healing of chronic venous leg ulcers. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 128 (10), pp.2526-2540. (10.1038/jid.2008.114)
• Lin, T. T. et al. 2008. Highly purified CD38+ sub-populations show no evidence of preferential clonal evolution despite having increased proliferative activity when compared with CD38+ sub-populations derived from the same chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patient. British Journal of Haematology 142 (4), pp.595-605. (10.1111/j.1365-2141.2008.07236.x)
• Baird, D. M. 2008. Telomere dynamics in human cells. Biochimie 90 (1), pp.116-121. (10.1016/j.biochi.2007.08.003)

2007

• Capper, R. et al. 2007. The nature of telomere fusion and a definition of the critical telomere length in human cells. Genes and Development 21 (19), pp.2495-2508. (10.1101/gad.439107)
• Baird, D. M. 2007. Telomeres. In: Marshall, V. et al., Encyclopaedia of Gerontology (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. , pp.593-601. (10.1016/B0-12-370870-2/00185-2)
• Baird, D. M. 2007. Telomeres II. Experimental Gerontology 43 (1), pp.15-19. (10.1016/j.exger.2007.10.002)
• Papageorgiou, I. et al., 2007. Genotoxic effects of particles of surgical cobalt chrome alloy on human cells of different age in vitro. Mutation Research/Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis 619 (1-2), pp.45-58. (10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2007.01.008)

2006

• Britt-Compton, B. et al. 2006. Structural stability and chromosome-specific telomere length is governed by cis-acting determinants in humans. Human Molecular Genetics 15 (5), pp.725-733. (10.1093/hmg/ddi486)
• Baird, D. M. 2006. Telomeres. Experimental Gerontology 41 (12), pp.1223-1227. (10.1016/j.exger.2006.09.009)
• Baird, D. M. et al. 2006. Telomere instability in the male germline. Human molecular genetics 15 (1), pp.45-51. (10.1093/hmg/ddi424)
• Baird, D. M. and Farr, C. J. 2006. The organization and function of chromosomes [Meeting Report]. EMBO Reports 7 (4), pp.372-376. (10.1038/sj.embor.7400661)
• Britt-Compton, B. and Baird, D. M. 2006. Intra-allelic mutation at human telomeres. Biochemical Society Transactions 34 (4), pp.581-582. (10.1042/BST0340581)
• Glaviano, A. et al., 2006. Effects of hTERT on metal ion-induced genomic instability. Oncogene 25 (24), pp.3424-3435. (10.1038/sj.onc.1209399)

2005

• Baird, D. M. 2005. New developments in telomere length analysis. Experimental Gerontology 40 (5), pp.363-368. (10.1016/j.exger.2005.02.008)
• Davis, T. et al. 2005. Prevention of accelerated cell aging in Werner syndrome using a p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor. The Journals of Gerontology. Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 60 (11), pp.1386-93.

2004

• Baird, D. M. et al. 2004. Normal telomere erosion rates at the single cell level in Werner syndrome fibroblast cells. Human Molecular Genetics 13 (14), pp.1515-1524. (10.1093/hmg/ddh159)
• Baird, D. M. and Kipling, D. G. 2004. The extent and significance of telomere loss with age. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1019 (1), pp.265-268. (10.1196/annals.1297.044)
• Cheung, I. et al., 2004. Strain-specific telomere length revealed by single telomere length analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nucleic Acids Research 32 (11), pp.3383-3391. (10.1093/nar/gkh661)
• Pickett, H. A. et al., 2004. Telomere instability detected in sporadic colon cancers, some showing mutations in a mismatch repair gene. Oncogene 23 (19), pp.3434-3443. (10.1038/sj.onc.1207477)

2003

• Baird, D. M. et al. 2003. Extensive allelic variation and ultrashort telomeres in senescent human cells. Nature Genetics 33 (2), pp.203-207. (10.1038/ng1084)

2000

• Baird, D. M. et al. 2000. High levels of sequence polymorphism and linkage disequilibrium at the telomere of 12q: implications for telomere biology and human evolution. American Journal of Human Genetics 66 (1), pp.235-250. (10.1086/302721)

1999

• Coleman, J. , Baird, D. M. and Royle, N. J. 1999. The plasticity of human telomeres demonstrated by a hypervariable telomere repeat array that is located on some copies of 16p and 16q. Human Molecular Genetics 8 (9), pp.1637-1646. (10.1093/hmg/8.9.1637)

1997

• Baird, D. M. and Royle, N. J. 1997. Sequences from higher primates orthologous to the human Xp/Yp telomere junction region reveal gross rearrangements and high levels of divergence. Human Molecular Genetics 6 (13), pp.2291-2299. (10.1093/hmg/6.13.2291)

1995

• Baird, D. M. , Jeffreys, A. J. and Royle, N. J. 1995. Mechanisms underlying telomere repeat turnover, revealed by hypervariable variant repeat distribution patterns in the human Xp/Yp telomere. EMBO Journal 14 (21), pp.5433-5443.

1994

• Royle, N. J. , Baird, D. M. and Jeffreys, A. J. 1994. A subterminal satellite located adjacent to telomeres in chimpanzees is absent from the human genome. Nature Genetics 6 (1), pp.52-56. (10.1038/ng0194-52)