Seminars
Molecular & Cellular Oncology Distinguished Scientist Seminar Series
The Molecular & Cellular Oncology (MCO) Distinguished Scientist Seminar Series brings scientists together to share their top-notch research with colleagues in the institution. This seminar has been established for more than 20 years and is open to our faculty and trainees. In FY25, the seminar will be held on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to noon Central either in person with a physical location or via Zoom with zoom link.
Organizers:
Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair ad interim, Molecular & Cellular Oncology
Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Molecular & Cellular Oncology
Seminar Coordinator(s):
Deborah H. Henson, Sr. Administrative Assistant, Molecular & Cellular Oncology
Email: DHHenson@mdanderson.org
Upcoming Speakers
Date: December 4, 2024
Time: 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (CST)
Zoom Meeting ID: 834 8554 8988
Password: 523721
Dial: 346-248‐7799
“Age-related Drivers of Breast Tumorigenesis”
Kornelia Polyak, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Medical School
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
Date: December 11, 2024
Time: 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (CST)
Zoom Meeting ID: 823 6437 8210
Password: 405126
Dial: 346-248‐7799
“Theory and Practice of Synthetic Lethality in Cancer”
Traver Hart, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Systems Biology, MD Anderson
Director, Quantitative Sciences Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Hosts: Yuan-Hung Lo, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
Rescheduled
“Identifying metabolic dependencies of primary versus metastatic pancreatic cancer"
Rushika M. Perera, Ph.D.
Deborah Cowan Endowed Associate Professor,
School of Medicine Vice Chair, Department of Anatom
CSO, UCSF Pancreas Center
University of California, San Francisco
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
Past Speakers
FY2025
November 13, 2024
“AI-Designed Protein Biosensors to Understand and Manipulate Cancer Signaling”
Jason Zhang, Ph.D.
NCI K99 Fellow in David Baker Lab
Department of Biochemistry
University of Washington
Hosts: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
October 9, 2024
“Marker-Guided Effective Therapy (MGET)”
Mien-Chie Hung, Ph.D
President & Chair Professor
China Medical University
Taichung, Taiwan
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
September 18, 2024
"Cabozantinib Increases the Efficacy of Pembrolizumab by a Multitargeted Reprogramming of the Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment"
Yana Zavros, Ph.D.
Professor and Associate Head for Research, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (CMM), University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson
Director, Tissue Acquisition and Cellular/Molecular Analysis Shared Resource, University of Arizona Cancer Center
Hosts: Yuan-Hung Lo, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
September 4, 2024
"Tumor-stromal Metabolic Cross-talk and Therapy Response in Pancreatic Cancer"
Pankaj K. Singh, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Oncology Science
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Hosts: Chunru Lin, M.D., Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
FY2024
June 19, 2024
"Functional Dissection of Stem Cell Plasticity in Skin Cancer and Aging"
Yejing Ge, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology
CPRIT Scholar of Cancer Research
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: Yuan-Hung Lo, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
May 22, 2024
Special Seminar: "Chemical and Synthetic Biology Routes to Unveiling Host-Pathogen/Cancer Dialogue"
Aerin Yang, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
Stanford University School of Medicine
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
May 8, 2024
"A Link Between Innate Immune Signaling and Genome Surveillance"
John H Petrini, Ph.D.
Chair, Molecular Biology Program
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Hosts: John Tainer, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
April 24, 2024
"Immune-Engineering Approaches for Cancer Therapy"
Yon Son Betty Kim, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Neurosurgery
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
April 17, 2024
"3D Genomic Interactions in Normal and Malignant Hematopoiesis"
Xiaotian Zhang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
University of Texas Health Science Center Houston, McGovern Medical School
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
April 3, 2024
"Chromatin Regulation and Cancer"
Shi Yang, Ph.D.
Professor of Epigenetics
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
University of Oxford, UK
Hosts: Min Gyu Lee, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
March 6, 2024
"Emerging Mechanisms of DNA Damage Tolerance in Breast Cancer"
Gaorav P. Gupta, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology
Co-Leader, Breast Cancer Research Program, Lienberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Hosts: John Tainer, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
February 7, 2024
"How Stromal Fibroblasts Sculpt Cancer Invasion and Cancer Evolution"
Erik Sahai, Ph.D., FMedSci
Principal Group Leader and Assistant Research Director
The Francis Crick Institute
President of the Metastasis Research Society
London, UK
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
January 24, 2024
"Targeting KRAS for Cancer Treatment: The Long and Winding Road"
Channing J. Der, Ph.D.
Sarah Graham Kenan
Distinguished Professor
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
December 13, 2023
"Response and Resistance to KRAS Inhibition in Pancreatic Cancer"
Andrew Aguirre, M.D., Ph.D.
Medical Oncologist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Hosts: John Tainer, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
December 6, 2023
"Targeting the intersection of DNA Damage Response and Androgen Signaling in Prostate Cancer"
Patrick G. Pilié, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: John Tainer, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
November 29, 2023
"INF Signaling in the Interplay Between T Cells and Tumor Cells"
Weiping Zou, M.D., Ph.D.
Charles B. de Nancrede Professor
Professor of Pathology, Immunology, Biology, and Surgery
Medical School University of Michigan
Hosts: Honami Naora, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
November 15, 2023
"Transcription Factor Interactions Revealed by Genetic Screens"
Christopher Vakoc, M.D., Ph.D.
Alan and Edith Seligson Professor of Cancer Research
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York
Hosts: Min Gyu Lee, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
October 25, 2023
"Epigenetic Approaches to Gynecological Cancers"
Rugang Zhang , Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Experimental Therapeutics
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
October 11, 2023
"Uncovering the Immunological Drivers of Protective Immunity following PD-1 Immunotherapy in Cancer"
Kristen Pauken, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Immunology
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
October 4, 2023
"Strategies to Challenge Brain Metastasis Lethality in Mice and Human"
Manuel Valiente, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Group LeaderBrain Metastasis Group
Molecular Oncology Programmee, CNIO
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
September 18, 2023
"Advancing Asian Genomics-Molecular Predictors of Disease in Individuals and Populations"
Patrick Tan, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Vice Dean
Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
Hosts: Yuan-Hung Lo, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
FY2023
June 7, 2023
"Mitochondrial Regulation of Kidney Diseases"
Farhad R. Danesh, M.D.
Professor of Emergency Medicine
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
May 24, 2023
"Origins and Effects of Stromal Cells in Aging and Cancer"
Mikhail Kolonin, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Center for Metabolic and Degenerative Diseases
Harry E Bovay, Jr. Distinguished University Chair in Metabolic Disease Research
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
May 17, 2023
"Signaling Mechanism and Therapeutic Targeting of LGR4/5/6 for the Cancer Treatment"
Qingyun Jim Liu, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Center for Translational Cancer Research
Janice Davis Gordon Chair for Bowel Cancer Research
Member, Texas Therapeutics Institute
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
May 3, 2023
"The world of viruses and its evolution"
Eugene V. Koonin, Ph.D.
NIH Distinguished Investigator
Evolutionary Genomics Research Group
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Hosts: John Tainer, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
April 5, 2023
"Bring the Power of Antibodies to the Bone"
Xiao Han, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Biosciences, and Bioengineering
CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research
Rice University
Hosts: Chunru Lin, M.D., Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
March 29, 2023
"New Insights into Regeneration and Cancer of the Liver"
Li Ma, Ph.D.
Professor of Experimental Radiation Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: Min Gyu Lee, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
March 15, 2023
"Targeting MDM2 Oncogene in Cancer Drug Discovery: Are we there yet?"
Ruiwen Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Pharmacological & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Robert L. Boblitt Endowed Professor in Drug Discovery
Director of the Drug Discovery Institute
University of Houston
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
March 1, 2023
"Targeting Cancer Metabolism for Diagnostics and Therapy"
H. Charles Manning, Ph.D.
Professor of Cancer Systems Imaging
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
February 15, 2023
"T-Cells: Targets and Tenacity"
Cassian Yee, M.D.
Kenneth Muller Professor in Melanoma Research
Professor, Melanoma Medical Oncology and Immunology
Director, Program in TCR-based Therapeutics
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
February 8, 2023
"Tumor Cell-intrinsic and Extrinsic Determinants for Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness"
Li Xin, Ph.D.
Professor, Pritt Family Endowed Chair
Department of Urology
University of Washington
Hosts: Chunru Lin, M.D., Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
January 18, 2023
"Mechanisms and consequences of pancreatic cancer stromal evolution"
Mara Sherman, Ph.D.
Associate Member, Cancer Biology & Genetics Program
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
December 7, 2022
"Canonical and Noncanonical Functions of MLL in Cancer"
Yali Dou, Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine
Marion and Harry Keiper Chair in Cancer Research
Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Hosts: Min Gyu Lee, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
November 9, 2022
"Untangling Cellular Networks in Cancer with Single-Cell Omics, Patient Organoids, and Mouse Models"
Jeroen P. Roose, Ph.D.
Professor and Vice Chair
Department of Anatomy
University of California San Francisco
Hosts: Paul Chiao, Ph.D., Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
November 2, 2022
"The Systemic Effects of Breast Cancer-derived Extracellular Vesicles"
Shizhen Emily Wang, Ph.D.
Professor, Pathology
University of California San Diego
Hosts: Honami Naora, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
Oct 26, 2022
"Anti-Tumor Immunity in the Omentum: Tregs, Microbiota, and Metabolism"
Troy Randall, Ph.D.
Professor-Immunology and Rheumatology
Department of Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Hosts: Honami Naora, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
October 12, 2022
"Cardio-Oncology-A Novel Platform for Investigation"
Javid Moslehi, M.D.
William Grossman Distinguished Professor in Cardiology
Section Chief, Cardio-Oncology & Immunology
Associate Professor in Residence
UCSF School of Medicine
Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI)
Hosts: Chunru Lin, Ph.D., Liuqing Yang, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
October 5, 2022
"Ferroaddiction in KRAS-Driven Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma"
Eric A. Collisson, M.D.
Professor in Residence
Department of Medicine
University of California San Francisco
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
September 7, 2022
"Study Oxygen Sensing Pathways in Cancers"
Qing Zhang, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Hosts: Chunru Lin, Ph.D., Liuqing Yang, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
FY2022
June 22, 2022
"Interrogation of Neoantigen-Specific T Cells Towards Improving Cancer Immunotherapy"
Matthew Gubin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Immunology
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
June 8, 2022
"New Insights into T Cell-Mediated Tumor Control"
Mauro Di Pilato, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Immunology
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
May 25, 2022
"Cellular and Molecular Determinant of Response to Immunotherapy"
Miriam Merad, M.D, Ph.D.
Director, Precision Immunology Institute (PrIISM)
Director, Human Immune Monitoring Core (HIMC)
Professor of Oncological Sciences and Medicine (Hem/Onc)
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
May 4, 2022
"Remodeling Chromatin in Cancer"
Emily Bernstein, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Oncological Sciences & Dermatology
Cancer Mechanisms Program Co-leader
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Hosts: Min Gyu Lee, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
April 27, 2022
"Beyond DNA Mutations: The Roles of mRNA Alternative Cleavage and Polyadenylation in Cancer"
Shih-Han Lee, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Genetics
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
April 6, 2022
"Pyroptosis: A New Way to Activate Anti-tumor Immunity"
Zhibin Zhang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Immunology
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: Haoqing Ying, M.D., Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
March 30, 2022
"Modeling Mucinous Gastrointestinal Cancer"
Jae-Il Park, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Experimental Radiation Oncology
Division of Radiation Oncology
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: Min Gyu Lee, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
March 16, 2022
"Function characterization of genomic alterations in gastrointestinal cancer"
Yuan-Hung Lo, Ph.D.
Stanford University
Hosts: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
March 2, 2022
"Development of novel therapeutic strategies to target the DNA Damage Response in the Clinic"
Timothy Yap, MBBS, Ph.D., FRCP
Associate Professor, Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Program), Division of Cancer Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Medical Director, The Institute for Applied Cancer Science
Associate Director of Translational Research, Khalifa Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy
Hosts: John Tainer, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
February 23, 2022
"New insights into CNS immune surveillance"
Jonathan Kipnis, Ph.D.
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Neurosurgery
Director, Center for Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG)
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D,. Ph.D.
February 16, 2022
"Blocking Cholesterol Storage to Treat Mouse Models for Alzheimer's Disease and Niemann - Pick Type C Disease"
T.Y. Chang, Ph.D.
Elected US National Academy of Sciences Member & AAAS Fellow
Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Dartmouth Medical School
Hosts: Haoqiang Ying, M.D., Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
February 9, 2022
"Understanding causes and consequences of DNA replication stress"
Vincenzo Costanzo, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, DNA Metabolism research program
Italian Foundation for Cancer Research (FIRC) Institute for Molecular Oncology (IFOM)
Hosts: John Tainer, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
January 26, 2022
"Filming the fate of cells that carry mutations in oncogenic driver genes"
Jacco van Rheenen, Ph.D.
Senior Group Leader
Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and the Oncode Institute
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
January 12, 2022
"The Hippo Pathway and Cancer"
Kun-Liang Guan, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center
University of California, San Diego
Hosts: Chunru Lin, Ph.D., Liuqing Yang, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
December 1, 2021
"Fill the gap between big cancer data to precision medicine"
Han Liang, Ph.D.
Barnhart Family Distinguished Professor in Targeted Therapies, Professor, Deputy Department Chair
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Division of Basic Science Research
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hosts: Chunru Lin, Ph.D., Liuqing Yang, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
November 17, 2021
"About Chomsky, Patterns, Noncoding RNAs and Cancer"
George Calin, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Translational Molecular Pathology, Division of Pathology/Lab Medicine
Co-Director, The RNA Interference and non-coding RNA Center
Co-Director, M.D./Ph.D. Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Hosts: Chunru Lin, Ph.D., Liuqing Yang, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
November 3, 2021
"Inflammation, nerves and the acinar origins of pancreatic cancer"
Timothy Cragin Wang, M.D.
Chief, Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases
Silberberg Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine and Irving Cancer Research Center
Columbia University Medical Center
Hosts: Paul Chiao, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
October 20, 2021
"Molecular and Cellular Regulation by ADP-ribosylation: From Nucleosomes to Ribosomes"
W. Lee Kraus, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences
Cecil H. and Ida Green Distinguished Chair in Reproductive Biology Sciences
University of Texas Southwestern
Hosts: Chunru Lin, Ph.D., Liuqing Yang, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
October 6, 2021
"Targeting MTHFD2 at the crossroad between cancer metabolism and DDR: from basic research through to pre-clinical development"
Thomas Helleday, Ph.D.
Professor, Translational, Medicine and Chemical Biology
Department of Oncology and Pathology
Karolinska Institutet Sweden
Hosts: John Tainer, Ph.D., and Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.
September 22, 2021
"Targeting Emerging Pathways in Neurodegeneration with Novel Therapeutics"
Jim Ray, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Neuroscience Director, Neurodegeneration Consortium
Therapeutics Discovery Division, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Host: Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D.