BCL2 and B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia: This discovery led our group to investigate miR-15a/16-1’s role in CLL, and in 2005, we demonstrated that miR-15a/16-1 has tumor suppressor functions and can induce apoptosis by targeting the B cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) gene, a potent inhibitor of the apoptotic program [17].