EpiSignal Talk of Dr. Goran Kungulovski

The first guest of the EpiSignal Talk was Dr. Goran Kungulovski from the Laboratory of Molecular Diagnostics and Precision Genomics at the Zan Mitrev Clinic in Skopje, Macedonia. As a former doctoral student of Prof. Albert Jeltsch, he impressed not only with his research but also as a role model for how you can develop when you turn your passion into your profession. In his talk with the title “Epigenetic Entropy and Chromatin Defects as Molecular Determinants of Cancer” he could show that many of the key genetic defects in cancer arise in chromatin regulators. The large-scale analyses show that tumors with such mutations have elevated tumor mutational burden and improved responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors—similar to canonical DNA repair deficiencies. In parallel, they are investigating DNA methylation variability and entropy as markers of tumor heterogeneity, uncovering how these epigenetic changes impact clinical outcomes. The findings highlight chromatin and epigenetic instability as emerging molecular determinants of cancer progression and therapy response.