Professor Kristian Helin is the founding Director of the Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC) at the University of Copenhagen. He has a long-standing interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms leading to cancer. The Helin lab has made several seminal discoveries, including the identification and molecular characterization of several families of chromatin-associated proteins and their role in stem cells and cancer. This work has also led to the establishment of a biotech company EpiTherapeutics, which was acquired by Gilead in 2015.

The Helin lab will contribute to the Grand Challenge project with expertise in understanding how the epigenetic landscapes shape the response to oncogenes and tumor suppressors.  Moreover, the Helin lab will put a major emphasis on glioblastoma and leukemia.