Ben Martin
@benjaminmartin.bsky.social
Assistant Prof at McGill, Oncology & Biochem departments, Lady Davis Institute | chromatin/txn | previous member @adelmanlab, LeAnn Howe labs | he/him | Fragile Nucleosome co-organizer | FHC MNT alumn 🏑🇨🇦🦌 | https://www.martinlab.ca/
Pinned
Ben Martin
@benjaminmartin.bsky.social
· Nov 12
👋 (Re)introducing myself for all the new folks! I'm a #newPI & Assistant Professor at McGill & The Lady Davis Institute. Our lab explores chromatin & txn regulation in stem cell differentiation & cancer models, focusing on how gene duplications (paralogs) drive unique, context-dependent functions. 🧬
Reposted by Ben Martin
I finally got around to putting together a quick overview of what my book is all about.
youtu.be/xPt1xy4_i-o?...
#epigenetics #epigeneticsbook #epigenome
youtu.be/xPt1xy4_i-o?...
#epigenetics #epigeneticsbook #epigenome
Epigenetics: History, Molecules, and Diseases -- Book overview
YouTube video by John Greally
youtu.be
January 2, 2026 at 7:26 PM
I finally got around to putting together a quick overview of what my book is all about.
youtu.be/xPt1xy4_i-o?...
#epigenetics #epigeneticsbook #epigenome
youtu.be/xPt1xy4_i-o?...
#epigenetics #epigeneticsbook #epigenome
Reposted by Ben Martin
Hot from the press: Using single-cell chromatin accessibility and gene expression across ~300,000 cells, we show that prostate cancer dissemination involves phenotypic plasticity over clonal selection, with malignant cells converging toward an inflammatory-like state during lymph node spread.
Prostate cancer cells converge to an inflammatory-like state upon metastatic dissemination - Nature Communications
Understanding tumor heterogeneity and its impact on prostate cancer progression remains elusive. Here, single nucleus snATAC and snRNA sequencing of a multi-loci sampled cohort of advanced prostate ca...
www.nature.com
December 23, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Hot from the press: Using single-cell chromatin accessibility and gene expression across ~300,000 cells, we show that prostate cancer dissemination involves phenotypic plasticity over clonal selection, with malignant cells converging toward an inflammatory-like state during lymph node spread.
Reposted by Ben Martin
Excited to finally share what I’ve been working on during my PhD 😊 Best holiday gift EVER!
We just posted a new preprint from the @dphansti.bsky.social 👇
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵
We just posted a new preprint from the @dphansti.bsky.social 👇
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵
Stress-induced loss of CTCF reveals an alternative, promoter-based mode of cohesin looping
Cells continually encounter environmental stressors that challenge homeostasis. How three-dimensional (3D) chromatin structure contributes to these stress responses, particularly under hyperosmotic co...
www.biorxiv.org
December 22, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Excited to finally share what I’ve been working on during my PhD 😊 Best holiday gift EVER!
We just posted a new preprint from the @dphansti.bsky.social 👇
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵
We just posted a new preprint from the @dphansti.bsky.social 👇
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵
Reposted by Ben Martin
@pravrutharaman.bsky.social got super intrigued about EZHIP/CATACOMB, previously identified as a histone H3K27M mimic of PRC2. You can read about her efforts here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We hope these analyses will help spur more analyses in this very cool gene! 1/
Dynamic evolution of EZHIP, an inhibitor of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 in mammals
The Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is an ancient, conserved chromatin-interacting complex that controls gene expression, facilitating differentiation and cellular identity during development. It...
www.biorxiv.org
December 13, 2025 at 10:08 PM
@pravrutharaman.bsky.social got super intrigued about EZHIP/CATACOMB, previously identified as a histone H3K27M mimic of PRC2. You can read about her efforts here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We hope these analyses will help spur more analyses in this very cool gene! 1/
Reposted by Ben Martin
Very excited to share our work on locus level transposable elements in development with the @fnucleosome.bsky.social community!
🧬🎉Join us on Dec 17th for our last session of 2025! 🎉🧬Two fantastic talks on transcriptional regulation:
🔬JB Lalanne on developmental enhancers (and starting a lab in 2025?)
🔬 @rberrens.bsky.social on transposable elements in development
📋Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
🔬JB Lalanne on developmental enhancers (and starting a lab in 2025?)
🔬 @rberrens.bsky.social on transposable elements in development
📋Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
December 12, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Very excited to share our work on locus level transposable elements in development with the @fnucleosome.bsky.social community!
Reposted by Ben Martin
🧬🎉Join us on Dec 17th for our last session of 2025! 🎉🧬Two fantastic talks on transcriptional regulation:
🔬JB Lalanne on developmental enhancers (and starting a lab in 2025?)
🔬 @rberrens.bsky.social on transposable elements in development
📋Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
🔬JB Lalanne on developmental enhancers (and starting a lab in 2025?)
🔬 @rberrens.bsky.social on transposable elements in development
📋Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
December 11, 2025 at 6:54 PM
🧬🎉Join us on Dec 17th for our last session of 2025! 🎉🧬Two fantastic talks on transcriptional regulation:
🔬JB Lalanne on developmental enhancers (and starting a lab in 2025?)
🔬 @rberrens.bsky.social on transposable elements in development
📋Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
🔬JB Lalanne on developmental enhancers (and starting a lab in 2025?)
🔬 @rberrens.bsky.social on transposable elements in development
📋Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Reposted by Ben Martin
An early Christmas present for those interested in chromatin and transcription! Fantastic work from @au-ho-yu.bsky.social and @aleksszczurek.bsky.social . Thanks to Inge and Michiel for their help. Please repost!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
SET1/MLL complexes control transcription independently of H3K4me3
Histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) at gene promoters is thought to play a central role in gene transcription. H3K4 methylation is deposited by the SET1 (A/B) and MLL (1-4) multi-protein comp...
www.biorxiv.org
December 11, 2025 at 6:09 AM
An early Christmas present for those interested in chromatin and transcription! Fantastic work from @au-ho-yu.bsky.social and @aleksszczurek.bsky.social . Thanks to Inge and Michiel for their help. Please repost!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ben Martin
Confused by all the histones that are cropping up in organisms that are decidedly NOT eukaryotes? check out our review - fantastic work by team NucEvo in the #Lugerlab
The Expanding Histone Universe: Histone-Based DNA Organization in Noneukaryotic Organisms - www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
The Expanding Histone Universe: Histone-Based DNA Organization in Noneukaryotic Organisms - www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
December 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Confused by all the histones that are cropping up in organisms that are decidedly NOT eukaryotes? check out our review - fantastic work by team NucEvo in the #Lugerlab
The Expanding Histone Universe: Histone-Based DNA Organization in Noneukaryotic Organisms - www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
The Expanding Histone Universe: Histone-Based DNA Organization in Noneukaryotic Organisms - www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Ben Martin
🔔Join us next Wednesday for #FragileNucleosome! 2 fantastic talks on chromatin regulation:🔬 @mariamafau.bsky.social on ZIC2's dual role in neural induction 🔬 @jhenninger.bsky.social on how RNA-binding proteins drive transcription
📋Register here for the entire series: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
📋Register here for the entire series: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
November 26, 2025 at 10:16 AM
🔔Join us next Wednesday for #FragileNucleosome! 2 fantastic talks on chromatin regulation:🔬 @mariamafau.bsky.social on ZIC2's dual role in neural induction 🔬 @jhenninger.bsky.social on how RNA-binding proteins drive transcription
📋Register here for the entire series: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
📋Register here for the entire series: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Reposted by Ben Martin
The Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, which supports our work, has produced a short film about our research:
November 26, 2025 at 1:22 AM
The Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, which supports our work, has produced a short film about our research:
Reposted by Ben Martin
🚨 Multiple #PhD opportunities for lab or computational applicants. Do you want to understand the molecular basis of #epigenetic dysfunction in human disease?
Come work with our group at the fantastic, collaborative @uoe-igc.bsky.social in a beautiful, liveable city.
🧵 1/4
Please repost 🙏
Come work with our group at the fantastic, collaborative @uoe-igc.bsky.social in a beautiful, liveable city.
🧵 1/4
Please repost 🙏
November 25, 2025 at 9:15 AM
🚨 Multiple #PhD opportunities for lab or computational applicants. Do you want to understand the molecular basis of #epigenetic dysfunction in human disease?
Come work with our group at the fantastic, collaborative @uoe-igc.bsky.social in a beautiful, liveable city.
🧵 1/4
Please repost 🙏
Come work with our group at the fantastic, collaborative @uoe-igc.bsky.social in a beautiful, liveable city.
🧵 1/4
Please repost 🙏
Reposted by Ben Martin
Do you have an exciting new chromatin/transcription story that you'd like to share with the #FN community?
Fill out this form to be considered for a talk in our Jan-June 2026 schedule! forms.gle/TBi38UgYxPAB...
Please repost and share!
Fill out this form to be considered for a talk in our Jan-June 2026 schedule! forms.gle/TBi38UgYxPAB...
Please repost and share!
Application to speak in the Fragile Nucleosome series
Thank you for your interest in our seminar series!
We use a variety of different session formats but, in general, trainees can plan for a ~15 min talk + 5min Q/A and PIs can plan for a ~25min talk +...
forms.gle
November 24, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Do you have an exciting new chromatin/transcription story that you'd like to share with the #FN community?
Fill out this form to be considered for a talk in our Jan-June 2026 schedule! forms.gle/TBi38UgYxPAB...
Please repost and share!
Fill out this form to be considered for a talk in our Jan-June 2026 schedule! forms.gle/TBi38UgYxPAB...
Please repost and share!
Reposted by Ben Martin
Excited to share this highlight of a beautiful study into how myeloperoxidase acts as a chromatin transformer
Myeloperoxidase transforms chromatin into an immune weapon #immunology
Myeloperoxidase transforms chromatin into an immune weapon
Burn et al. reveal a previously unrecognised, non-catalytic function of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation; integrating super-resolution microscopy and biochemical approaches, they demonstrated that MPO’s oligomeric state governs chromatin decondensation, redefining MPO as a structural chromatin modifier with implications for diseases driven by dysregulated NETosis.
dlvr.it
November 20, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Excited to share this highlight of a beautiful study into how myeloperoxidase acts as a chromatin transformer
Reposted by Ben Martin
🔔This Wednesday , in #FragileNucleosome seminar, we are excited to host @ishtiaqueh.bsky.social of Pastor lab and Prof. Sarah Teichmann, @teichlab.bsky.social, to tell us about their exciting studies!
🗓️Register here for upcoming session and the entire series:
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
🗓️Register here for upcoming session and the entire series:
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
November 18, 2025 at 9:43 AM
🔔This Wednesday , in #FragileNucleosome seminar, we are excited to host @ishtiaqueh.bsky.social of Pastor lab and Prof. Sarah Teichmann, @teichlab.bsky.social, to tell us about their exciting studies!
🗓️Register here for upcoming session and the entire series:
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
🗓️Register here for upcoming session and the entire series:
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Reposted by Ben Martin
Special mention for the care towards young scientists training, involved in every step from organisation to co-chairing session to (great) selected talks
November 15, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Special mention for the care towards young scientists training, involved in every step from organisation to co-chairing session to (great) selected talks
Fantastic to connect with colleagues & friends and be back in the mountains for the @ceehrc.bsky.social Canadian Epigenetics meeting!
November 15, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Fantastic to connect with colleagues & friends and be back in the mountains for the @ceehrc.bsky.social Canadian Epigenetics meeting!
Reposted by Ben Martin
Thrilled to share that the final piece of my PhD work is now on bioRxiv! biorxiv.org/content/10.1... With support from @nvidia and the @NSF, we used AlphaFold to screen 1.6M+ protein pairs, revealing thousands of potential novel PPIs. All data can be viewed at predictomes.org/hp
Proteome-wide in silico screening for human protein-protein interactions
Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) drive virtually all biological processes, yet most PPIs have not been identified and even more remain structurally unresolved. We developed a two-step computational...
biorxiv.org
November 12, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Thrilled to share that the final piece of my PhD work is now on bioRxiv! biorxiv.org/content/10.1... With support from @nvidia and the @NSF, we used AlphaFold to screen 1.6M+ protein pairs, revealing thousands of potential novel PPIs. All data can be viewed at predictomes.org/hp
Reposted by Ben Martin
I am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
Insertion of an invading retrovirus regulates a novel color trait in swordtail fish
For over a century, evolutionary biologists have been motivated to understand the mechanisms through which organisms adapt to their environments. Coloration and pigmentation are remarkably variable wi...
shorturl.at
November 12, 2025 at 8:34 PM
I am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
Reposted by Ben Martin
🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions!
Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.
Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.
Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
November 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM
🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions!
Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.
Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.
Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
Reposted by Ben Martin
📣 Paper alert!
I am delighted that our paper exploring the impact of Neanderthal-derived variants on the activity of a disease-associated craniofacial enhancer has been published in Development today!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
I am delighted that our paper exploring the impact of Neanderthal-derived variants on the activity of a disease-associated craniofacial enhancer has been published in Development today!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
November 10, 2025 at 11:11 AM
📣 Paper alert!
I am delighted that our paper exploring the impact of Neanderthal-derived variants on the activity of a disease-associated craniofacial enhancer has been published in Development today!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
I am delighted that our paper exploring the impact of Neanderthal-derived variants on the activity of a disease-associated craniofacial enhancer has been published in Development today!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Reposted by Ben Martin
In case anyone is wondering if Watson was really THAT bad, @lpachter.bsky.social compiled a list of quotes that are absolutely not for the faint of heart.
liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...
liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...
November 7, 2025 at 10:18 PM
In case anyone is wondering if Watson was really THAT bad, @lpachter.bsky.social compiled a list of quotes that are absolutely not for the faint of heart.
liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...
liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...
Reposted by Ben Martin
And we have another open position, this time with a focus on Genome Biology! Join a great community in Vienna to bring your research to the next level!
📢 Open Call! The Max Perutz Labs invite applications for a Tenure-Track Professorship in Genome Biology. We are particularly interested in researchers investigating the molecular and biophysical mechanisms underlying genome function and regulation. More details ➡️ tinyurl.com/3t7vvdct
November 6, 2025 at 4:35 AM
And we have another open position, this time with a focus on Genome Biology! Join a great community in Vienna to bring your research to the next level!
Reposted by Ben Martin
The 🇨🇦 Standing Committee on Science and Research passed a modified resolution this afternoon that the requested ricouncil applicant and reviewer data can be aggregated and anonymized. Thanks to the many researchers who signed letters pointing out legitimate data privacy concerns. 👏👏
November 6, 2025 at 12:22 AM
The 🇨🇦 Standing Committee on Science and Research passed a modified resolution this afternoon that the requested ricouncil applicant and reviewer data can be aggregated and anonymized. Thanks to the many researchers who signed letters pointing out legitimate data privacy concerns. 👏👏
Reposted by Ben Martin
Please repost - Multiple PhDs available
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
November 5, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Please repost - Multiple PhDs available
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Ben Martin
We've been told by Finance that the 2024 budget commitments are intact, minus the $83 million. This is much better than I had been expecting.
2/ This matters enormously for granting councils. is the announced $83M cut from the 2024-25 baseline (which would be a real cut) or from the fiscal framework in which big instance were promised building up out to 2027-28 (which would mean a smaller rate of increase but not a cut)?
November 4, 2025 at 11:49 PM
We've been told by Finance that the 2024 budget commitments are intact, minus the $83 million. This is much better than I had been expecting.