Dr Neil Rodrigues
DPhil (Oxon)
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Neil Rodrigues
Reader, Postgraduate Divisional Tutor
School of Biosciences
Overview
Research overview
My laboratory is interested in haematopoietic stem/progenitor cell biology and their dysregulation in bone marrow failure and haematologic cancer. We are investigating the transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms regulating haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) with the ultimate purpose of identifying more specific and less toxic treatment strategies for MDS and AML.
Lab members
- Amani Alsayari
- Hamed Ahmad A Alzahrani
- Sarab Taha
- Hind Alqahtani
Current grant support
- Leukaemia Cancer Society
- Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
Publication
2025
- Abdelfattah, A. et al. 2025. Worldwide prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in patients with Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Biomedica
- Abdelfattah, A. et al. 2025. Impaired DNA damage responses and inflammatory signaling underpin hematopoietic stem cell defects in Gata2 haploinsufficiency. Stem Cell Reports 20 (8) 102596. (10.1016/j.stemcr.2025.102596)
- Almotiri, A. et al. 2025. Treating genetic blood disorders in the era of CRISPR-mediated genome editing. Molecular Therapy 33 (6), pp.2645-2662. (10.1016/j.ymthe.2025.01.031)
2024
- Almotiri, A. et al. 2024. Zeb1 maintains long-term adult hematopoietic stem cell function and extramedullary hematopoiesis. Experimental Hematology 134 104177. (10.1016/j.exphem.2024.104177)
2023
- Almotiri, A. , Boyd, A. S. and Rodrigues, N. P. 2023. Zeb1 Regulates the function of lympho-myeloid primed progenitors after transplantation. Biomolecules 13 (9) 1386. (10.3390/biom13091386)
- Chan, Y. et al. 2023. (+)-catechin attenuates multiple atherosclerosis-associated processes in vitro, modulates disease-associated risk factors in C57BL/6J mice and reduces atherogenesis in LDL receptor deficient mice by inhibiting inflammation and increasing markers of plaque stability. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 67 (14) 2200716. (10.1002/mnfr.202200716)
- Rastogi, N. et al. 2023. Nuclear factor I-C overexpression promotes monocytic development and cell survival in acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia 37 , pp.276-287. (10.1038/s41375-022-01801-z)
2022
- Almotiri, A. , Abdelfattah, A. and Rodrigues, N. P. 2022. Flow cytometry analysis of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and mature blood cell subsets in atherosclerosis. In: Ramji, D. ed. Atherosclerosis. Vol. 2419, Methods in Molecular Biology Springer. , pp.583-595. (10.1007/978-1-0716-1924-7_36)
- Menendez-Gonzalez, J. B. and Rodrigues, N. P. 2022. Exploring the associations between clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, myeloid malignancy, and atherosclerosis. In: Ramji, D. ed. Atherosclerosis. Vol. 2419, Methods in Molecular Biology Springer. , pp.73-88. (10.1007/978-1-0716-1924-7_5)
- Menendez-Gonzalez, J. B. et al., 2022. Ligand-based discovery of a novel GATA2 inhibitor targeting acute myeloid leukemia cells. Frontiers In Drug Discovery 2 1013229. (10.3389/fddsv.2022.1013229)
2021
- Abdelfattah, A. M. et al., 2021. Gata2 haploinsufficiency promotes proliferation and functional decline of HSCs with myeloid bias during aging. Blood Advances 5 (20), pp.4285-4290. (10.1182/bloodadvances.2021004726)
- Almotiri, A. et al. 2021. Zeb1 modulates hematopoietic stem cell fates required for suppressing acute myeloid leukemia. Journal of Clinical Investigation 131 (1) e129115. (10.1172/JCI129115)
- Lawson, H. et al., 2021. JMJD6 promotes self-renewal and regenerative capacity of hematopoietic stem cells. Blood Advances 5 (3), pp.889-899. (10.1182/bloodadvances.2020002702)
- Lawson, H. et al., 2021. CITED2 coordinates key haematopoietic regulatory pathways to maintain the HSC pool in both steady-state haematopoiesis and transplantation. Stem Cell Reports 16 (11), pp.2784-2797. (10.1016/j.stemcr.2021.10.001)
- Moss, J. W. E. et al. 2021. Protective effects of a unique combination of nutritionally active ingredients on risk factors and gene expression associated with atherosclerosis in C57BL/6J mice fed a high fat diet. Food and Function 12 (8), pp.3657-3671. (10.1039/D0FO02867C)
- O'Morain, V. L. et al. 2021. The Lab4P consortium of probiotics attenuates atherosclerosis in LDL receptor deficient mice fed a high fat diet and causes plaque stabilization by inhibiting inflammation and several pro-atherogenic processes. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 65 (17) 2100214. (10.1002/mnfr.202100214)
2019
- Menendez Gonzalez, J. B. et al. 2019. Inhibition of GATA2 restrains cell proliferation and enhances apoptosis and chemotherapy mediated apoptosis in human GATA2 overexpressing AML cells. Scientific Reports 9 12212. (10.1038/s41598-019-48589-0)
- Menendez Gonzalez, J. B. et al. 2019. Gata2 as a crucial regulator of stem cells in adult hematopoiesis and acute myeloid leukemia. Stem Cell Reports 13 (2), pp.291-306. (10.1016/j.stemcr.2019.07.005)
- Menendez-Gonzalez, J. B. et al., 2019. Isolation of murine hematopoietic stem cells. In: Boyd, A. S. ed. Immunological Tolerance: Methods and Protocols. Vol. 1899, Methods in Molecular Biology New York: Humana Press. , pp.15-23. (10.1007/978-1-4939-8938-6_2)
2018
- Boyd, A. S. and Rodrigues, N. P. 2018. Stem cells cycle toward immune surveillance. Immunity 48 (2), pp.187-190. (10.1016/j.immuni.2018.02.006)
2017
- Guitart, A. V. et al., 2017. Fumarate hydratase is a critical regulator of hematopoietic stem cell functions. Journal of Experimental Medicine 214 (3), pp.-. 719. (10.1084/jem.20161087)
- Portero Migueles, R. et al., 2017. Transcriptional regulation of Hhex in hematopoiesis and hematopoietic stem cell ontogeny. Developmental Biology 424 (2), pp.236-245. (10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.12.021)
2013
- Guha, P. et al., 2013. Lack of immune response to differentiated cells derived from syngeneic induced pluripotent stem cells. Cell Stem Cell 12 (4), pp.407-412. (10.1016/j.stem.2013.01.006)
- Rodrigues, N. and Tipping, A. J. 2013. Transcription factor GATA-2 regulates quiescence of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. In: Hayat, M. A. ed. Tumor Dormancy, Quiescence, and Senescence, Volume 2. Vol. 2, Springer. , pp.277-288. (10.1007/978-94-007-7726-2_26)
2012
- Boyd, A. S. et al., 2012. Concise review: Immune recognition of induced pluripotent stem cells. Stem Cells 30 (5), pp.797-803. (10.1002/stem.1066)
- Rodrigues, N. et al. 2012. GATA-2 mediated regulation of normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell function, myelodysplasia and myeloid leukemia. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology 44 (3), pp.457-460. (10.1016/j.biocel.2011.12.004)
2009
- Kranc, K. R. et al., 2009. Cited2 is an essential regulator of adult hematopoietic stem cells. Cell Stem Cell 5 (6), pp.659-665. (10.1016/j.stem.2009.11.001)
- Tipping, A. J. et al., 2009. High GATA-2 expression inhibits human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell function by effects on cell cycle. Blood 113 (12), pp.2661-2672. (10.1182/blood-2008-06-161117)
2008
- Rodrigues, N. et al. 2008. GATA-2 regulates granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cell function. Blood 112 (13), pp.4862-4873. (10.1182/blood-2008-01-136564)
2007
- Nijnik, A. et al., 2007. DNA repair is limiting for haematopoietic stem cells during ageing. Nature 447 (7145), pp.686-690. (10.1038/nature05875)
2005
- Craiu, A. et al., 2005. Flowing cells through pulsed electric fields efficiently purges stem cell preparations of contaminating myeloma cells while preserving stem cell function. Blood 105 (5), pp.2235-2238. (10.1182/blood-2003-12-4399)
- Rodrigues, N. et al. 2005. Haploinsufficiency of GATA-2 perturbs adult hematopoietic stem-cell homeostasis. Blood 106 (2), pp.477-484. (10.1182/blood-2004-08-2989)
2004
- Qiu, J. et al., 2004. Regenerative response in ischemic brain restricted by p21cip1/waf1. Journal of Experimental Medicine 199 (7), pp.937-945. (10.1084/jem.20031385)
2002
- Adams, G. B. et al., 2002. Heterologous cells cooperate to augment stem cell migration, homing, and engraftment. Blood 101 (1), pp.45-51. (10.1182/blood-2002-02-0486)
2001
- Cheng, T. et al., 2001. Transforming growth factor β1 mediates cell-cycle arrest of primitive hematopoietic cells independent of p21Cip1/Waf1or p27Kip1. Blood 98 (13), pp.3643-3649. (10.1182/blood.V98.13.3643)
2000
- Cheng, T. et al., 2000. Stem cell repopulation efficiency but not pool size is governed by p27 (kip1). Nature Medicine 6 , pp.1235-1240. (10.1038/81335)
- Cheng, T. et al., 2000. Hematopoietic stem cell quiescence maintained by p21cip1/waf1. Science 287 (5459), pp.1804-1808. (10.1126/science.287.5459.1804)
Articles
- Abdelfattah, A. et al. 2025. Worldwide prevalence of Helicobacter pylori in patients with Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Biomedica
- Abdelfattah, A. et al. 2025. Impaired DNA damage responses and inflammatory signaling underpin hematopoietic stem cell defects in Gata2 haploinsufficiency. Stem Cell Reports 20 (8) 102596. (10.1016/j.stemcr.2025.102596)
- Abdelfattah, A. M. et al., 2021. Gata2 haploinsufficiency promotes proliferation and functional decline of HSCs with myeloid bias during aging. Blood Advances 5 (20), pp.4285-4290. (10.1182/bloodadvances.2021004726)
- Adams, G. B. et al., 2002. Heterologous cells cooperate to augment stem cell migration, homing, and engraftment. Blood 101 (1), pp.45-51. (10.1182/blood-2002-02-0486)
- Almotiri, A. et al. 2024. Zeb1 maintains long-term adult hematopoietic stem cell function and extramedullary hematopoiesis. Experimental Hematology 134 104177. (10.1016/j.exphem.2024.104177)
- Almotiri, A. et al. 2025. Treating genetic blood disorders in the era of CRISPR-mediated genome editing. Molecular Therapy 33 (6), pp.2645-2662. (10.1016/j.ymthe.2025.01.031)
- Almotiri, A. et al. 2021. Zeb1 modulates hematopoietic stem cell fates required for suppressing acute myeloid leukemia. Journal of Clinical Investigation 131 (1) e129115. (10.1172/JCI129115)
- Almotiri, A. , Boyd, A. S. and Rodrigues, N. P. 2023. Zeb1 Regulates the function of lympho-myeloid primed progenitors after transplantation. Biomolecules 13 (9) 1386. (10.3390/biom13091386)
- Boyd, A. S. et al., 2012. Concise review: Immune recognition of induced pluripotent stem cells. Stem Cells 30 (5), pp.797-803. (10.1002/stem.1066)
- Boyd, A. S. and Rodrigues, N. P. 2018. Stem cells cycle toward immune surveillance. Immunity 48 (2), pp.187-190. (10.1016/j.immuni.2018.02.006)
- Chan, Y. et al. 2023. (+)-catechin attenuates multiple atherosclerosis-associated processes in vitro, modulates disease-associated risk factors in C57BL/6J mice and reduces atherogenesis in LDL receptor deficient mice by inhibiting inflammation and increasing markers of plaque stability. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 67 (14) 2200716. (10.1002/mnfr.202200716)
- Cheng, T. et al., 2001. Transforming growth factor β1 mediates cell-cycle arrest of primitive hematopoietic cells independent of p21Cip1/Waf1or p27Kip1. Blood 98 (13), pp.3643-3649. (10.1182/blood.V98.13.3643)
- Cheng, T. et al., 2000. Stem cell repopulation efficiency but not pool size is governed by p27 (kip1). Nature Medicine 6 , pp.1235-1240. (10.1038/81335)
- Cheng, T. et al., 2000. Hematopoietic stem cell quiescence maintained by p21cip1/waf1. Science 287 (5459), pp.1804-1808. (10.1126/science.287.5459.1804)
- Craiu, A. et al., 2005. Flowing cells through pulsed electric fields efficiently purges stem cell preparations of contaminating myeloma cells while preserving stem cell function. Blood 105 (5), pp.2235-2238. (10.1182/blood-2003-12-4399)
- Guha, P. et al., 2013. Lack of immune response to differentiated cells derived from syngeneic induced pluripotent stem cells. Cell Stem Cell 12 (4), pp.407-412. (10.1016/j.stem.2013.01.006)
- Guitart, A. V. et al., 2017. Fumarate hydratase is a critical regulator of hematopoietic stem cell functions. Journal of Experimental Medicine 214 (3), pp.-. 719. (10.1084/jem.20161087)
- Kranc, K. R. et al., 2009. Cited2 is an essential regulator of adult hematopoietic stem cells. Cell Stem Cell 5 (6), pp.659-665. (10.1016/j.stem.2009.11.001)
- Lawson, H. et al., 2021. JMJD6 promotes self-renewal and regenerative capacity of hematopoietic stem cells. Blood Advances 5 (3), pp.889-899. (10.1182/bloodadvances.2020002702)
- Lawson, H. et al., 2021. CITED2 coordinates key haematopoietic regulatory pathways to maintain the HSC pool in both steady-state haematopoiesis and transplantation. Stem Cell Reports 16 (11), pp.2784-2797. (10.1016/j.stemcr.2021.10.001)
- Menendez Gonzalez, J. B. et al. 2019. Inhibition of GATA2 restrains cell proliferation and enhances apoptosis and chemotherapy mediated apoptosis in human GATA2 overexpressing AML cells. Scientific Reports 9 12212. (10.1038/s41598-019-48589-0)
- Menendez Gonzalez, J. B. et al. 2019. Gata2 as a crucial regulator of stem cells in adult hematopoiesis and acute myeloid leukemia. Stem Cell Reports 13 (2), pp.291-306. (10.1016/j.stemcr.2019.07.005)
- Menendez-Gonzalez, J. B. et al., 2022. Ligand-based discovery of a novel GATA2 inhibitor targeting acute myeloid leukemia cells. Frontiers In Drug Discovery 2 1013229. (10.3389/fddsv.2022.1013229)
- Moss, J. W. E. et al. 2021. Protective effects of a unique combination of nutritionally active ingredients on risk factors and gene expression associated with atherosclerosis in C57BL/6J mice fed a high fat diet. Food and Function 12 (8), pp.3657-3671. (10.1039/D0FO02867C)
- Nijnik, A. et al., 2007. DNA repair is limiting for haematopoietic stem cells during ageing. Nature 447 (7145), pp.686-690. (10.1038/nature05875)
- O'Morain, V. L. et al. 2021. The Lab4P consortium of probiotics attenuates atherosclerosis in LDL receptor deficient mice fed a high fat diet and causes plaque stabilization by inhibiting inflammation and several pro-atherogenic processes. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 65 (17) 2100214. (10.1002/mnfr.202100214)
- Portero Migueles, R. et al., 2017. Transcriptional regulation of Hhex in hematopoiesis and hematopoietic stem cell ontogeny. Developmental Biology 424 (2), pp.236-245. (10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.12.021)
- Qiu, J. et al., 2004. Regenerative response in ischemic brain restricted by p21cip1/waf1. Journal of Experimental Medicine 199 (7), pp.937-945. (10.1084/jem.20031385)
- Rastogi, N. et al. 2023. Nuclear factor I-C overexpression promotes monocytic development and cell survival in acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia 37 , pp.276-287. (10.1038/s41375-022-01801-z)
- Rodrigues, N. et al. 2008. GATA-2 regulates granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cell function. Blood 112 (13), pp.4862-4873. (10.1182/blood-2008-01-136564)
- Rodrigues, N. et al. 2005. Haploinsufficiency of GATA-2 perturbs adult hematopoietic stem-cell homeostasis. Blood 106 (2), pp.477-484. (10.1182/blood-2004-08-2989)
- Rodrigues, N. et al. 2012. GATA-2 mediated regulation of normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell function, myelodysplasia and myeloid leukemia. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology 44 (3), pp.457-460. (10.1016/j.biocel.2011.12.004)
- Tipping, A. J. et al., 2009. High GATA-2 expression inhibits human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell function by effects on cell cycle. Blood 113 (12), pp.2661-2672. (10.1182/blood-2008-06-161117)
Book sections
- Almotiri, A. , Abdelfattah, A. and Rodrigues, N. P. 2022. Flow cytometry analysis of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and mature blood cell subsets in atherosclerosis. In: Ramji, D. ed. Atherosclerosis. Vol. 2419, Methods in Molecular Biology Springer. , pp.583-595. (10.1007/978-1-0716-1924-7_36)
- Menendez-Gonzalez, J. B. and Rodrigues, N. P. 2022. Exploring the associations between clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, myeloid malignancy, and atherosclerosis. In: Ramji, D. ed. Atherosclerosis. Vol. 2419, Methods in Molecular Biology Springer. , pp.73-88. (10.1007/978-1-0716-1924-7_5)
- Menendez-Gonzalez, J. B. et al., 2019. Isolation of murine hematopoietic stem cells. In: Boyd, A. S. ed. Immunological Tolerance: Methods and Protocols. Vol. 1899, Methods in Molecular Biology New York: Humana Press. , pp.15-23. (10.1007/978-1-4939-8938-6_2)
- Rodrigues, N. and Tipping, A. J. 2013. Transcription factor GATA-2 regulates quiescence of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. In: Hayat, M. A. ed. Tumor Dormancy, Quiescence, and Senescence, Volume 2. Vol. 2, Springer. , pp.277-288. (10.1007/978-94-007-7726-2_26)
Biography
Dr. Rodrigues has a longstanding interest in stem cell biology, with a particular interest in the haematopoietic system. He initially trained in Professor David Scadden's laboratory at Harvard Medical School and went on to obtain a D.Phil in Clinical Medicine from Green College, University of Oxford under the joint supervision of Professors Scadden, Paresh Vyas and Tariq Enver. Following several years of teaching at Oxford and post-doctoral research training in the Enver laboratory, he established his NIH funded laboratory at Boston University School of Medicine where he also held an Assistant Professor appointment. In September 2013, Dr. Rodrigues was recruited to re-establish his laboratory at the European Cancer Stem Cell Institute. He holds a Readership at Cardiff University.
Contact Details
+44 29206 88507
Hadyn Ellis Building, Room European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, Cardiff School of Biosciences, Maindy Road, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ
Research themes
Specialisms
- Stem cells
- Haematology
- Haematological tumours