Brock Christensen

Research Interests

DNA-based cell typing; methylation cytometry; cell profiles and epigenetic alterations; development and progression of disease

Education

• BS, University of Wisconsin - Madison 2002
• PhD, Harvard University 2008

Selected Publications

• Chen Y, Salas LA, Marotti JD, Jenkins NP, Cheng C, Miller TW, Kettenbach AN, Christensen BC. Extensive epigenomic dysregulation is a hallmark of homologous recombination deficiency in triple‑negative breast cancer. Int J Cancer. 2025 Mar 15;156(6):1191–1202. doi:10.1002/ijc.35274. Epub 2024 Dec 5. PMID: 39635770
• Levy JJ, Diallo AB, Saldías Montivero MK, Gabbita S, Salas LA, Christensen BC. Insights to aging prediction with AI‑based epigenetic clocks. Epigenomics. 2025 Jan;17(1):49–57. doi:10.1080/17501911.2024.2432854. Epub 2024 Nov 25. PMID: 39584810
• Zhang Z, Sehgal K, Shirai K, Butler RA, Wiencke JK, Koestler DC, Ramush G, Lee MK, Molinaro AM, Stolrow HG, Birnbaum A, Salas LA, Haddad RI, Kelsey KT, Christensen BC. Methylation‑based cytometric pretreatment blood immune profiles with tumor‑mutation burden as prognostic indicators for survival outcomes in head‑and‑neck cancer patients on anti‑PD‑1 therapy. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2024 Nov 18;8(1):267. doi:10.1038/s41698-024-00759-8. Epub 2024 Nov 18. PMID: 39558036
• Lee MK, Zhang Z, Sehgal K, Butler R, Stolrow H, Ramush G, Shirai K, Koestler DC, Salas LA, Wiencke JK, Haddad R, Kelsey KT, Christensen BC. Immunomethylomic profiles of long‑term head‑and‑neck squamous‑cell carcinoma survivors on immune‑checkpoint inhibitors. Epigenomics. 2024;16(11–12):799‑807. doi:10.1080/17501911.2024.2343274. Epub 2024 May 17. PMID: 38869472
• Lee MK, Azizgolshani N, Zhang Z, Perreard L, Kolling FW, Nguyen LN, Zanazzi GJ, Salas LA, Christensen BC. Associations in cell‑type‑specific hydroxymethylation and transcriptional alterations of pediatric central nervous system tumors. Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 30;15(1):3635. doi:10.1038/s41467‑024‑47943‑9. Epub 2024 Apr 30. PMID: 38688903
• Lee MK, Azizgolshani N, Shapiro JA, Nguyen LN, Kolling FW, Zanazzi GJ, Frost HR, Christensen BC. Identifying tumor‑type‑ and cell‑type‑specific gene‑expression alterations in pediatric central nervous system tumors. Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 30;15(1):3634. doi:10.1038/s41467‑024‑47712‑8. Epub 2024 Apr 30. PMID: 38688897
• Bagheri M, Lee MK, Muller KE, Miller TW, Pattabiraman DR, Christensen BC. Alteration of DNA methyltransferases by eribulin elicits broad DNA‑methylation changes with potential therapeutic implications for triple‑negative breast cancer. Epigenomics. 2024 Mar;16(5):293‑308. doi:10.2217/epi‑2023‑0339. Epub 2024 Feb 15. PMID: 38356412
• Chen JQ, Salas LA, Wiencke JK, Koestler DC, Molinaro AM, Andrew AS, Seigne JD, Karagas MR, Kelsey KT, Christensen BC. Matched analysis of detailed peripheral‑blood and tumor immune‑microenvironment profiles in bladder cancer. Epigenomics. 2024 Jan;16(1):41‑56. doi:10.2217/epi‑2023‑0358. Epub 2024 Jan 15. PMID: 38221889
• Reynolds SR, Zhang Z, Salas LA, Christensen BC. Tumor‑microenvironment deconvolution identifies cell‑type‑independent aberrant DNA methylation and gene expression in prostate cancer. Clin Epigenetics. 2024 Jan 3;16(1):5. doi:10.1186/s13148‑023‑01609‑3. Epub 2024 Jan 3. PMID: 38173042