Richard L Bennett

Richard L Bennett, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor

Department: MD-HEMATOLOGY/ONCOLOGY-ONCOL
Business Phone: (352) 273-8333
Business Email: bennettr@ufl.edu

About Richard L Bennett

I first became interested in molecular and cellular biology as an undergraduate at Kalamazoo College, and later, as a graduate student at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, I decided to devote my career to researching the molecular basis of cancer. This has provided me with the opportunity to study interesting questions that are both fundamental to biology and also of significance to our society. After graduate school, I worked first as a post-doctoral fellow and then as a Research Assistant Professor to determine the role of the interferon-inducible, dsRNA-activated protein kinase PKR in tumorigenesis. In 2016 I had the opportunity to join the Research group of Jonathan Licht, M.D. to study the role of chromatin dynamics in cancer. My projects in the Licht lab include: characterizing how histone mutations that disrupt nucleosome structure may cause changes in gene expression that drive the tumorigenic phenotype, analyzing the mechanism by which an activating mutation of the histone methyltransferase NSD2 dysregulates the chromatin landscape to drive myeloma or ALL and identifying new genetic vulnerabilities in uveal melanoma.

Teaching Profile

Courses Taught
2016
IDH3931 Interdisciplinary Junior Honors
2009-2010
IDH4917 Undergrad Research
2021,2023-2024
GMS6053 Cancer Biology and Therapeutics
2021-2025
GMS6001 Fundamentals of Biomedical Sciences I
2022-2024
GMS6065 Fundamentals of Cancer Biology
2023-2025
PAS5010 Intro to Medicine 1

Research Profile

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

0000-0002-0243-2443

Areas of Interest
  • Biochemistry and Cell Biology
  • Cancer
  • Cancer Genetics
  • Cell signaling pathways
  • Gene expression
  • Regulation of Gene Expression

Publications

2024
Genetic variation drives cancer cell adaptation to ECM stiffness
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 121(39) [DOI] 10.1073/pnas.2403062121. [PMID] 39302966.
2024
KDM6A regulates immune response genes in multiple myeloma
Blood. 144(14):1508-1520 [DOI] 10.1182/blood.2024024518.
2024
KDM6A Regulates Immune Response Genes in Multiple Myeloma.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology. [DOI] 10.1101/2024.02.12.579179. [PMID] 38405853.
2024
NSD2 drives t(4;14) myeloma cell dependence on adenylate kinase 2 by diverting one-carbon metabolism to the epigenome.
Blood. 144(3):283-295 [DOI] 10.1182/blood.2023022859. [PMID] 38598835.
2023
First-in-class multifunctional TYMS nonclassical antifolate inhibitor with potent in vivo activity that prolongs survival
JCI Insight. 8(10) [DOI] 10.1172/jci.insight.158798. [PMID] 37097751.
2023
HDAC8-mediated inhibition of EP300 drives a transcriptional state that increases melanoma brain metastasis
Nature Communications. 14(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s41467-023-43519-1. [PMID] 38030596.
2023
Histone mutations in cancer
Biochemical Society Transactions. 51(5):1749-1763 [DOI] 10.1042/bst20210567.
2023
SMYD3 represses tumor-intrinsic interferon response in HPV-negative squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
Cell reports. 42(7) [DOI] 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112823. [PMID] 37463106.
2022
DNMT3A Harboring Leukemia-Associated Mutations Directs Sensitivity to DNA Damage at Replication Forks.
Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. 28(4):756-769 [DOI] 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-2863. [PMID] 34716195.
2022
PRC2 Inhibitors Overcome Glucocorticoid Resistance Driven by NSD2 Mutation in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Cancer discovery. 12(1):186-203 [DOI] 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1771. [PMID] 34417224.
2022
The epigenetic underpinnings of lower back pain
Clinical and Translational Medicine. 12(6) [DOI] 10.1002/ctm2.868. [PMID] 35678043.
2021
Epigenetics
Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology. 1-8 [DOI] 10.1007/978-3-030-21573-6_10061-1.
2021
Leveraging epigenetics to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy
Clinical Epigenetics. 13(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s13148-021-01100-x. [PMID] 34001289.
2021
Targeting epigenetic mechanisms to overcome venetoclax resistance.
Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular cell research. 1868(8) [DOI] 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2021.119047. [PMID] 33945824.
2019
A Mutation in Histone H2B Represents a New Class of Oncogenic Driver.
Cancer discovery. 9(10):1438-1451 [DOI] 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-19-0393. [PMID] 31337617.
2019
An activating mutation of the NSD2 histone methyltransferase drives oncogenic reprogramming in acute lymphocytic leukemia.
Oncogene. 38(5):671-686 [DOI] 10.1038/s41388-018-0474-y. [PMID] 30171259.
2019
Defining the NSD2 interactome: PARP1 PARylation reduces NSD2 histone methyltransferase activity and impedes chromatin binding.
The Journal of biological chemistry. 294(33):12459-12471 [DOI] 10.1074/jbc.RA118.006159. [PMID] 31248990.
2018
Targeting Epigenetics in Cancer.
Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology. 58:187-207 [DOI] 10.1146/annurev-pharmtox-010716-105106. [PMID] 28992434.
2017
Sabotaging of the oxidative stress response by an oncogenic noncoding RNA.
FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 31(2):482-490 [DOI] 10.1096/fj.201600654R. [PMID] 28148777.
2017
The Role of Nuclear Receptor-Binding SET Domain Family Histone Lysine Methyltransferases in Cancer.
Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine. 7(6) [DOI] 10.1101/cshperspect.a026708. [PMID] 28193767.
2015
PKR inhibits the DNA damage response, and is associated with poor survival in AML and accelerated leukemia in NHD13 mice.
Blood. 126(13):1585-94 [DOI] 10.1182/blood-2015-03-635227. [PMID] 26202421.
2014
Pkr Promotes Genetic Instability and Evolution of Mds To Acute Leukemia in Mice By Negatively Regulating Ddr and Dna Repair in a Novel Mechanism
Cancer Research. 74(19, S):LB-1 [DOI] 10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-LB-1.
2014
Progressive genomic instability in the Nup98-HoxD13 model of MDS correlates with loss of the PIG-A gene product.
Neoplasia (New York, N.Y.). 16(8):627-33 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neo.2014.07.004. [PMID] 25220590.
2013
PKR negatively regulates leukemia progression in association with PP2A activation, Bcl-2 inhibition and increased apoptosis.
Blood cancer journal. 3(9) [DOI] 10.1038/bcj.2013.42. [PMID] 24013665.
2013
PKR regulates proliferation, differentiation, and survival of murine hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.
Blood. 121(17):3364-74 [DOI] 10.1182/blood-2012-09-456400. [PMID] 23403623.
2012
Increased expression of the dsRNA-activated protein kinase PKR in breast cancer promotes sensitivity to doxorubicin.
PloS one. 7(9) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0046040. [PMID] 23029376.
2012
The RAX/PACT-PKR stress response pathway promotes p53 sumoylation and activation, leading to G₁ arrest.
Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.). 11(2):407-17 [DOI] 10.4161/cc.11.2.18999. [PMID] 22214662.
2008
c-Myc and caspase-2 are involved in activating Bax during cytotoxic drug-induced apoptosis.
The Journal of biological chemistry. 283(21):14490-6 [DOI] 10.1074/jbc.M801107200. [PMID] 18375382.
2008
RAX is required for fly neuronal development and mouse embryogenesis.
Mechanisms of development. 125(9-10):777-85 [DOI] 10.1016/j.mod.2008.06.009. [PMID] 18634873.
2006
RAX, the PKR activator, sensitizes cells to inflammatory cytokines, serum withdrawal, chemotherapy, and viral infection.
Blood. 108(3):821-9 [PMID] 16861340.
2004
Serine 18 phosphorylation of RAX, the PKR activator, is required for PKR activation and consequent translation inhibition.
The Journal of biological chemistry. 279(41):42687-93 [PMID] 15299031.
DNMT3A harboring leukemia-associated mutations directs sensitivity to DNA damage at replication forks
. [DOI] 10.1101/2021.05.28.445639.

Grants

Sep 2024 ACTIVE
Investigating epigenetic mechanisms of cancer
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH

Education

Ph.D.
2001 · Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 273-8333
Emails:
Business:
bennettr@ufl.edu
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
ROOM 264
PO BOX 103633
2033 MOWRY ROAD
GAINESVILLE FL 32610
Business Street:
CANCER AND GENETICS RESEARCH COMPLEX, ROOM 264
2033 MOWRY RD
GAINESVILLE FL 326103010