Research
The Goals of Molecular & Cellular Oncology (MCO):
- Build MCO as a basic and translational science “hub” at MD Anderson to advance fundamental cancer science that brings innovation to cancer patient care
- Translate new scientific breakthroughs to clinical trials by closely collaborating with clinical colleagues
- Bring cancer science forward globally at new frontiers
Shared Resources
Functional Genomics enables researchers to understand the complicated interactions between genotype and phenotype at a genome-wide scale. ShRNA, Open Reading Frame (ORF) and CRISPR libraries are powerful tools for these types of genetic screens, which have been widely used in the field of cancer research for identifying oncogenes, tumor suppressors, metastasis regulators, drug resistance genes and new therapeutic targets. The Functional Genomics Core aims to promote our basic research and to enhance translational research and drug discovery at MD Anderson.
Defining & Targeting Oncogenic Molecular & Cellular Pathways: Our four foundational themes
Education and Training
All MCO faculty participate in at least one graduate program in The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
The following are examples of MCO faculty members' service to the Cancer Biology Program:
- Dr. Dihua Yu is a Cancer Biology Program executive committee member
- Dr. Honami Naora is co-director of the Cancer Biology Program
- Dr. Min Gyu Lee is a Cancer Biology Program membership committee member
- Dr. Chunru Lin served on MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School Academic Standard Committee as an alternate representative for the Cancer Biology Program
MCO faculty continue to host a plethora of students from summer programs as well as MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School tutorial students and give lectures in the core curriculum.
The following are MCO faculty members' service to UTHealth and the institution:
- Dr. Honami Naora, MD Anderson Research Education & Training Internal Advisory Board, Member, 9/2022-present; MD Anderson Graduate Education Committee, Member 9/2023-present
- Dr. Min Sup Song, MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School Curriculum Committee, Member, 10/2019−present
- Dr. Liuqing Yang, MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School Student Scholarship Committee, Member, 9/2020−present
- Dr. Haoqiang Ying, MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School Student Scholarship Committee, Member, 9/2019−present; co-director (with Dr. Jian Hu of Cancer Biology), Basic and Translational Cancer Biology course, MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School, 1/2020−present
Departmental Plan to Advance MD Anderson Research
Overarching Goals and Planned Contributions:
- Define and target oncogenic molecular and cellular pathways, contributing to discovery for unmet medical needs.
- Provide strong recruitment, mentorship, and vibrant research environment.
- Advance and bridge basic, translational and clinical research efforts for clinical successes through intra-and inter-departmental collaborations.
- Contribute to MD Anderson research platforms and team science by supporting integrated oncogenic structure-function-biology.
- Augment funding and technology through vigorous grant applications, partnership with industry, and program building.
- Enhance leadership in education: Improve trainee quality and numbers, with better outreach and mentorship.
Awards and Honors
FY25
Faculty
Dr. Dihua Yu was offically selected as chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, effective December 15, 2024.
Trainees
Postdoctoral Fellows
- Dr. Suet Ying Kwan (mentor: Dr. Laura Beretta) received an MD Anderson Institute for Data Science in Oncology (IDSO) fellowship (one year) to train in the application of data science to cancer care, prevention, research and operations.
Graduate Students
- Pengju Gong (mentor: Dr. Chunru Lin), received a $750 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences travel award for attending 66th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2024, held in San Diego, California, December 7–10, 2024.
Fellowships for Graduate Students at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
- Yiming Cai (mentor: Dr. Haoqiang Ying) awarded the 2024–2025 Schissler Foundation Fellowship
- Hao-Nien Chen (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu) awarded a 2024–2025 Rosalie B. Hite Fellowship Renewal
- Shao-Ping (Emily) Yang (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu) awarded a 2024–2025 CPRIT Research Training Grant (RP210028) Renewal
Trainee Retreat Presentation Awards
Cancer Biology Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, FY25 retreat
- Pre-candidacy oral presentation: 1st prize went to Wei-Chieh Yu (mentor: Dr. Yuan-Hung Lo)
- Post-candidacy oral presentation: 1st prize went to Emily Yang (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu) and 2nd prize went to Pengju Gong (mentor: Dr. Chunru Lin)
2024 Genetics & Epigenetics (G&E) Retreat
- Poster presentations: Pre-candidacy/MS: 2nd prize went to Ahmed Emam (mentor: Dr. John Tainer)
FY24
Faculty
Dr. Yuan-Hung Lo was named a UT Rising STAR
Dr. Haoqaing Ying was awarded FY24 Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Award, 5/1/2024 through 4/30/2026
Dr. Chunru Lin was named Faculty Educator of the Quarter for the second quarter of the 2024-2025 award year.
Dr. Dihua Yu was named Highly Ranked Scholar-Prior 5 Years in Metastasis by ScholarGPS, 2024.
Dr. Honami Naora was selected as an honoree of the Education & Mentorship category of the 2024 MD Anderson’s Celebration of Faculty Excellence. The celebration was held on August 8, 2024 at III by Wolfgang Puck.
Dr. John Tainer was recognized as one of best molecular biology scientists (ranked #94) in the world by Research.com.
Trainees
Postdoctoral Fellow and RFA
- Jiang Zhou, postdoctoral fellow (mentor: Dr. Chunru Lin), received a 2024 AACR-Scholar-in-Training Award supported by Daiichi Sankyo.
- Suet-Ying Kwan, instructor (mentor: Dr. Laura Beretta), received the 2024 Gut Microbiota for Health Summit Award.
- Zilong Zhao (research mentor: Dr. Chunru Lin) awarded the FY24 Jesse H. Jones Endowed Fellowship.
Graduate Students
- Naga babu Chinnam (thesis advisor: Dr. John Tainer) successfully defended his Ph.D. on April 12, 2024 and graduated in May 2024.
- Pengju Gong (mentor: Dr. Chunru Lin) received the 2024 Dr. John J. Kopchick Fellowship award.
- Shao-Ping Yang (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu) received a $5,000 Investing in Student Futures Scholarship award.
- Ahmed Emam (mentor: Dr. John Tainer) received the 2023–2024 Steve Lasher and Janiece Longoria Graduate Student Research Award in Cancer Biology.
- Hao-Nien Chen (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu) received the 2024 George M. Stancel, Ph.D. Fellowship in the Biomedical Sciences
Fellowships for Graduate Students
Shao-Ping (Emily) Yang was awarded the CPRIT Graduate Scholar Award, The MD Anderson CPRIT Research Training Program, September 1, 2023–August 31, 2024. The scholarship will cover her tuition, stipend and fringe benefits, and a $1000 travel award.
Hao-Nien Chen was awarded the 2023-2024 Rosalie B. Hite Fellowship, which includes a full stipend of $36,000, plus payment of benefits, tuition and fees for September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024.
Both are The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences students under Dr. Dihua Yu's mentorship.
Trainee Retreat Presentation Awards
Cancer Biology Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, FY24 retreat
- Pre-candidacy oral presentation: 2nd prize went to Pengju Gong (mentor: Dr. Chunru Lin)
- Post-candidacy oral presentation: 2nd prize went to Shao-Ping Yang (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu), and 3rd prize went to Lisa Huang (mentor: Dr. Liuqing Yang)
- Post-candidacy poster presentation: 3rd prize went to Yiming Cai (mentor: Dr. Haoqiang Ying)
FY23
Faculty
Dr. Liuqing Yang was one of five finalists for the 2023 Julie and Ben Rogers Award for Excellence in the area of Research.
Dr. Laura Beretta is a recipient of the Ashbel Smith Professorship.
Both Drs. Chunru Lin and Min Sup Song reached 10-year milestone service anniversary.
Trainees
Yimin Cai (mentor: Dr. Haoqiang Ying) received the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 2022–2023 R.W. Butcher Student Achievement Scholarship & 3rd place in Flash talk competition in 2023 Cancer Biology Spring Symposium.
Hao-Nien Chen (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu) received the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Immunology Program Travel Award for attending the 2023 AACR annual meeting in Orlando, FL. and the 2023–2024 Rosalie B. Hite Fellowship.
Lisa Huang (mentors: Dr. Chunru Lin and Dr. Liuqing Yang) was one of the four winners of the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Presidents’ Research Scholarship for 2023 ($5,000 scholarships).
Shao-Ping (Emily) Yang (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu): received the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Student Travel Award for attending the 2023 AACR annual meeting in Orlando, FL & an awardee of CPRIT Graduate Scholar Award, The MD Anderson CPRIT Research Training Program (RP210028).
Dr. Zhou Joe Jiang (mentor: Dr. Chunru Lin): a 3rd winner for oral presentation in the translation category in the FY23 Trainee Research Day.
FY22
Faculty
Dr. Dihua Yu, for a publication in Cancer Cell, and Dr. Min-Sup Song, for a publication in Cell Metabolism, were selected for the Wall of Science.
October 2021: Chunru Lin, Ph.D., Awarded Faculty Scholar
This award was established to recognize faculty who exhibit outstanding abilities and excellence early on in their career path. The Faculty Scholar Award awards a salary supplementation and allotment for research, clinical or academic activity support during the three-year duration of the award.
Trainees
- Dr. Arseniy Yuzhalin, Odyssey Postdoc Fellow (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu), PI: FY2021 DoD CDMRP BCRP Breakthrough Award BC210402 -Funding Level 1 “Targeting the Glia-Induced CDK5 Expression That Enforces Antigenic Escape of Brain Metastasis”, impact score 1.8, recommended for funding, $729,000 total cost for 36 months.
- Dr. Yongkun Wei, assistant professor in Dr. Haoqiang Ying's group, is the recipient of a 2022-2023 Career Enhancement Program (CEP) award from The MD Anderson Cancer Center SPORE in GI Cancer. 06/01/2022-05/31/2022, $50,000
- Dr. Suet Ying Kwan, instructor in Dr. Laura Beretta’s group, obtained HCC SPORE CEP Award. 09/01/2021-08/31/2021, $50,000.
- AACR interview request: Yuan Zhang (presenter, postdoctoral), Jinyang Wang, Yi Xiao, Xiangliang Yuan, Ping Li, Yimin Duan, Victoria L Seewaldt, Dihua Yu. Title: Boosting immune surveillance by low-dose PI3K inhibitor facilitates early intervention of breast cancer. Interviewed by Alexis Hyams of Oncology Learning Network and the interview was posted in MD Anderson Cancer Center News on April 29, 2021.
2022 AACR Scholar in Training Award
Dr. Mei-Kuang (Kathy) Chen (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu), postdoctoral fellow, was selected for 2022 AACR-Doreen J. Putrah Cancer Research Foundation Scholar-in-Training Award. She is standing third from the left at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Scholar-in-Training Awards Reception in New Orleans.
2022 Endowed Fellowship Research Award Recipient
Dr. Zhou (Joe) Jiang (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu) is one of six recipients of the 2022 Harold C and Mary L Dailey Endowed Fellowship ($2000).
FY21
Faculty
Drs. John Tainer and Chi-Lin Tsai for their article in Molecular Cell, Drs. John Tainer and Zamal Ahmed for their article in Sciences Advances, and Drs. Chunru Lin and Liuqing Yang for their article in Science were all selected for the Wall of Science.
Trainees
Dr. Ching-Fei Li (mentor: Dr. Paul J Chiao) awarded by the Odyssey Program Fellowship (September 1, 2020 to August 31, 2023) for her proposed project entitled, “Investigation of the role of BDKRB1 in PDAC progression and tumor microenvironment”.
Ruth Barros De Paula (mentor: Dr. John A. Tainer) wins one of the Grad Student elevator speech.
Dr. WonJae Lee (mentor: Dr. Honami Naora) awarded Diane Denson Tobola Fellowship in Ovarian Cancer Research Recognition of Research Excellence.
Arseniy Yuzhalin, Ph.D., (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu) was awarded by the Odyssey Program Fellowship (September 1, 2019-August 31, 2022) for his proposed project entitled “Inhibition of CDK5 as a potential therapeutic strategy against breast cancer brain metastasis” and received a 2020 Postdoctoral Travel Award from Office of Postdoctoral Affairs & Development (OPAD), MD Anderson Cancer Center, November 2019.
Chunxiao Liu, Ph.D., (mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu) had a first-author publication in J Hepatology, published in April 2021, and was awarded the 2021 Harold C. and Mary L. Dailey Endowment Fellowship ($2000)
FY20
Faculty
Dr. Liuqing Yang was awarded the FY20 Faculty Scholar Award (one of six recipients) and the 2019 Sanofi-Cell Research Outstanding Research Article Award and was the MD Anderson representative at the Next Step in the Ono Award (Feb 3, 2020).
Dr. Chunru Lin was a Faculty Honoree of the 2020 President’s Recognition of Faculty Excellence in Research Excellence.
Dr. Dihua Yu was recognized with the MD Anderson 30 years of service award and was named MD Anderson Distinguished Educator.
FY19
Faculty
Dr. Dihua Yu, Professor & Chair ad interim, was named the following:
- President of Metastasis Research Society
- Steering Committee of the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) Working Group 2018-2020 of AACR, specifically as the Representative of the International Metastasis Research Society (IMRS)
- 2018 Cell and Bioscience Service Award on 2/22/2019, a prize given by Cell & Bioscience journal which is published by BioMed Central (BMC). The prize is awarded to acknowledge general contributions to the field of cell biology.
- Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Cancer Research
Dr. Liuqing Yang, assistant professor, has been recognized at this year’s President’s Recognition of Faculty Excellence Award for efforts in advancing cancer research and treatment and also received the 2019 AACR NextGen Stars Award.
Trainees
Ms. Mei-Kuang Chen, obtained Jesse B. Heath, Jr. Family Legacy Award 2019 & T32 Training Grant in Cancer Biology. Mentor: Drs. Mien-Chie Hung & Dihua Yu
Mr. Jingkun Qu, a graduate student-non-UTHSCH (Mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu), received a 2019 AACR-Breast Cancer Research Foundation Scholar-in-Training Award on 2/15/2019 from AACR in the amount of $1,500. Mr. Qu won the 3rd Place at the Oral Presentation contest of The 31th SCBA-Texas Chapter Annual Symposium, Houston, TX, on May 18, 2019.
Ms. Jessica Nye (Mentor: Dr. John Tainer), a CPRIT summer undergraduate student from University of Texas Austin was a recipient of hop award for her summer research in August 2019.
Dr. Zhou Jiang (Research co-mentors: Drs. Dihua Yu and Mien-Chie Hung), The 2019 AACR-AstraZeneca Immuno-oncology Research Fellowship $120,000 grant with a term of 9/1/2019-8/31/2021 (two years).
Dr. Arseniy Yuzhalin received 2019 Odyssey Fellowship Award, 3-years. (Mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu).
Manish Kumar received CCE postdoctoral scholarship. Mentor: Dr. Min Gyu Lee
Dr. Heng-Huan Lee, 2019 Odyssey Outstanding Publication Awards (Basic Research), supported by The Ernst W. Bertner Memorial Fund), March 2019. Mentor: Drs. Mien-Chie Hung & Dihua Yu. He has been offered a tenure track assistant professor position in Houston Methodist Cancer Center.
Clinton Yam, M.D., graduated from the M.S. program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in June 2019 (Mentor: Dr. Hung); a recipient of the 2019 Waun Ki Hong Award for Achievement in Basic Science Research. He will become faculty in Breast Medical Oncology once his visa is approved in 2020 (Yam is a citizen of Singapore).
NIH R01 supplement grant (3R01CA208213-03S1) to support Dr. Akosua Badu-Nkansah’s training (Mentor: Dr. Dihua Yu)
Won Jae Lee (Mentor: Dr. Honami Naora) received a Career Development Award, HERA Ovarian Cancer Foundation in November 2019. Project title: Targeting metastasis-promoting fibrosis in ovarian cancer. This study evaluates whether anti-inflammatory drugs can be repurposed to reduce omentum fibrosis and thereby inhibit omentum metastasis of ovarian cancer.
Select Publications
FY25
Saito Y+, Xiao Y+, Yao J, Li Y, Liu W, Yuzhalin AE, Shyu YM, Li H, Yuan X, Li P, Zhang Q, Li Z, Wei Y, Yin X, Zhao J, Kariminia SM, Wu YC, Wang J, Yang J, Xia W, Sun Y, Jho EH, Chiao PJ, Hwang RF, Ying H, Wang H, Zhao Z, Maitra A, Hung MC, DePinho RA, Yu D. Targeting a chemo-induced adaptive signaling circuit confers therapeutic vulnerabilities in pancreatic cancer. Cell Discov. Oct 29;10(1):109, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41421-024-00720-w. +co-first authors. MDA Research Highlights Dec 18, 2024.
Yu J, Yan C, Paul T, Brewer L, Tsutakawa SE, Tsai CL, Hamdan SM, *Tainer JA, *Ivanov I. Molecular architecture and functional dynamics of the pre-incision complex in nucleotide excision repair. Nat Commun. 2024 Oct 1;15(1):8511. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52860-y. *Co-corresponding authors
Kwan SY, Gonzales KA, Jamal MA, Stevenson HL, Tan L, Lorenzi PL, Futreal PA, Hawk ET, McCormick JB, Fisher-Hoch SP, Jenq RR, Beretta L. Protection against fibrosis by a bacterial consortium in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis and the role of amino acid metabolism. Gut Microbes. 2024 Jan-Dec;16(1):2399260. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2024.2399260. Epub 2024 Sep 6. PMC11382720
Yuzhalin AE, Lowery F, Saito Y, Yuan X, Yao J, Duan Y, Ding J, Acharya S, Fajardo A, Chen HN, Wei Y, Sun Y, Zhang L, Xiao Y, Li P, Lorenzi PL, Huse JT, Fan H, Zhao Z, Hung MC, Yu D. Astrocyte-induced Cdk5 expedites breast cancer brain metastasis by suppressing MHC-I expression to evade immune recognition. Nat Cell Biol. Oct;26(10):1773-1789, (epub online Sept 20), 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-024-01509-5
FY24
Sanchez JI, Fontillas AC, Kwan SY, Sanchez CI, Calderone TL, Lee JL, Elasiey A, Cleere DW, Wei P, Vierling JM, Victor DW, Beretta L. Metabolomics biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma in a prospective cohort of patients with cirrhosis. JHEP reports. Vol 6, Issue 8, Aug 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhepr.2024.101119.
Xun Z, Zhou H, Shen M, Liu Y, Sun C, Du Y, Jiang Z, Yang L, Zhang Q, *Lin C, *Hu Q, *Ye Y, *Han L. Identification of Hypoxia-ALCAM high Macrophage- Exhausted T Cell Axis in Tumor Microenvironment Remodeling for Immunotherapy Resistance. Adv Sci (Weinh). Jul 2:e2309885, 2024. doi: 10.1002/advs.202309885. Online ahead of print. *co-corresponding authors
*Brosey CA, Link T, Shen R, Moiani D, Burnett A, Hura GL, Jones DE, *Tainer JA. Chemical screening by time-resolved X-ray scattering to discover allosteric probes. Nat Chem Biol April 26, 2024. *Co-corresponding. doi:10.1038/s41589-024-01609-1. MD Anderson News Release and highlighted in the Advanced Light Source
Fu J, Ling J, Li CF, Tsai CL, Yin W, Hou J, Chen P, Cao Y, Kang Y, Sun Y, Xia W, Jiang Z, Furukawa K, Lu Y, Wu M, Huang Q, Yao J, Hawke DH, Pan B, Zhao J, Huang J, Wang H, Bahassi EM, Stambrook PJ, Huang P, Fleming JB, Maitra A, Tainer JA, Hung MC, Lin C*, Chiao PJ*. Nardilysin-Regulated Scission Mechanism Activates Polo-Like Kinase 3 To Suppress the Development of Pancreatic Cancer. Nat Comm. April 11, 15(1):3149, 2024*co-corresponding. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47242-3. MD Anderson News Release
Ye Z, Xu S, Shi Y, Cheng Z, Xhang Y, Roy S, Namjoshi S, Longo MA, Link TM, Schlacher K, Peng G, Yu D, Wang B, Tainer JA*, Ahmed Z*. GRB2 stabilizes RAD51 at reversed replication forks suppressing genomic instability and innate immunity against cancer. Nat Comm. Mar 8;15(1):2132. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46283-y. PMCID10923831. *co-corresponding.
Syed A, Filandr F, Patterson-Fortin J, Bacolla A, Ravindranathan R, Zhou J, McDonald DT, Albuhluli ME, Verway-Cohen A, Newman JA, Tsai MS, Jones DE, Schriemer DC, D'Andrea AD, Tainer JA. Novobiocin blocks nucleic acid binding to Polθ and inhibits stimulation of its ATPase activity. Nucleic Acids Res. Sep 4:gkad727, 2023. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkad727.
Lv X, Lu X, Cao J, Luo Q, Ding Y, Peng F, Pataer A, Lu D, Han D, Malmberg E, Chan DW, Wang X, Savage SR, Mao S, Yu J, Peng F, Yan L, Meng H, Maneix L, Han Y, Chen Y, Yao W, Chang EC, Catic A, Lin X, Miles G, Huang P, Sun Z, Burt B, Wang H, Wang J, Yao QC, Zhang B, Roth JA, O'Malley BW, Ellis MJ, Rimawi MF, Ying H*, Chen X*. Modulation of the proteostasis network promotes tumor resistance to oncogenic KRAS inhibitors. Science Sep 8;381(6662):eabn4180, 2023. doi: 10.1126/science.abn4180. Epub 2023 Sep 8. PMID: 37676964. *co-corresponding
FY23
Chu YY, Chen MK, Wei Y, Lee HH, Xia W, Wang YN, Yam C, Hsu JL, Wang HL, Chang WC, Yamaguchi H, Jiang Z, Liu C, Li CF, Nie L, Chan LC, Gao Y, Wang SC, Liu J, Westin SN, Lee S, Sood AK, Yang L, Hortobagyi GN, Yu D*, Hung MC*. Targeting the ALK-CDK9-Tyr19 kinase cascade sensitizes ovarian and breast tumors to PARP inhibition via destabilization of the P-TEFb complex. Nature Cancer Oct;3(10):1211-1227, 2022. (Epub online Oct 17, 2022) doi: 10.1038/s43018-022-00438-2. PMC9586872. *Co-corresponding authors. MD Anderson News Release. Selected for CSO FY23Q1 Wall of Science
Zhang Y, Sun C, Li Y, Qin J, Amancherla K, Jing Y, Hu Q, Liang K, Zhang Z, Ye Y, Huang LA, Nguyen TK, Egranov SD, Zhao Z, Wu A, Xi Y, Yao J, Hung MC, Calin GA, Cheng J, Lim B, Lehmann LH, Salem JE, Johnson DB, Curran MA, Yu D, Han L, Darabi R, Yang L, Moslehi JJ, Lin C. Hormonal therapies up-regulate MANF and overcome female susceptibility to immune checkpoint inhibitor myocarditis. Sci Transl Med, Nov 2;14(669):eabo1981, 2022. PMID: 36322628. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abo1981.PMC9809130
Sun C, Ye Y, Tan Z, Liu Y, Li Y, Hu W, Liang K, Egranov SD, Huang LA, Zhang Z, Zhang Y, Yao J, Nguyen TK, Zhao Z, Wu A, Marks JR, Caudle AS, Sahin AA, Gao J, Gammon ST, Piwnica-Worms D, Hu J, Chiao PJ, Yu D, Hung MC, Curran MA, Calin GA, Ying H, Han L, Lin C, Yang L. Tumor-associated nonmyelinating Schwann cell-expressed PVT1 promotes pancreatic cancer kynurenine pathway and tumor immune exclusion. Sci Adv. Feb 3;9(5):eadd6995, 2023. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.add6995. Epub 2023 Feb 1. PMC9891701 MD Anderson News Release
Bralić A, Tehseen M, Sobhy MA, Tsai CL, Alhudhali L, Yi G, Yu J, Yan C, Ivanov I, Tsutakawa SE, Tainer JA*, Hamdan SM*. A scanning-to-incision switch in TFIIH-XPG induced by DNA damage licenses nucleotide excision repair. Nucleic Acids Res. Feb 22;51(3):1019-1033, 2023. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkac1095. PMC9943652 * Co-corresponding author. NAR Breakthrough Article.
Ko SY, Lee W, Weigert M, Jonasch E, Lengyel E, Naora H. The glycoprotein CD147 defines miRNA-enriched extracellular vesicles that derive from cancer cells. J Extracell Vesicles Apr;12(4):e12318, 2023. doi: 10.1002/jev2.12318. PMC10042814, MD Anderson News Release
*Chen Z, Ho IL, Soeung M, Yen EY, Liu J, Yan L, Rose JL, Srinivasan S, Jiang S, Edward Chang Q, Feng N, Gay JP, Wang Q, Wang J, Lorenzi PL, Veillon LJ, Wei B, Weinstein JN, Deem AK, Gao S, Genovese G, Viale A, Yao W, Lyssiotis CA, Marszalek JR, *Draetta GF, *Ying H. Ether phospholipids are required for mitochondrial reactive oxygen species homeostasis. Nat Commun. Apr 17;14(1):2194, 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37924-9. PMC10110566. *Co-corresponding authors
Zhang Y, Zhao Z, Huang LA, Liu Y, Yao J, Sun C, Li Y, Zhang Z, Ye Y, Yuan F, Nguyen TK, Garlapati NR, Wu A, Egranov SD, Caudle AS, Sahin AA, Lim B, Beretta L, Calin GA, Yu D, Hung MC, Curran MA, Rezvani K, Gan B, Tan Z, Han L, Lin C, Yang L. Molecular mechanisms of snoRNA-IL-15 crosstalk in adipocyte lipolysis and NK cell rejuvenation. Cell Metab. 2023 Jun 12:S1550-4131(23)00186-9, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.05.009. PMID37329887.
Longo MA, Roy S, Chen Y, Tomaszowski KH, Arvai AS, Pepper JT, Boisvert RA, Kunnimalaiyaan S, Keshvani C, Schild D, Bacolla A, *Williams GJ, *Tainer JA, *Schlacher K. RAD51C-XRCC3 structure and cancer patient mutations define DNA replication roles. Nat Commun. Jul 24;14(1):4445, 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40096-1. *Co-corresponding authors.
FY22
Zhang L, Qu J, Qi Y, Duan Y, Huang YW, Zhou Z, Li P, Yao J, Huang B, Zhang S, Yu D. EZH2 engages TGFβ signaling to promote breast cancer bone metastasis via integrin β1-FAK activation. Nat Commun. May 10;13(1):2543, 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30105-0. MD Anderson News Room
Yuan X, Duan Y, Xiao Y, Sun K, Qi Y, Zhang Y, Ahmed Z, Moiani D, Yao J, Li H, Zhang L, Yuzhalin AE, Li P, Zhang C, Badu-Nkansah A, Saito Y, Liu X, Kuo WL, Ying H, Sun SC, Chang JC, Tainer JA, Yu D. Vitamin E Enhances Cancer Immunotherapy by Reinvigorating Dendritic Cells via Targeting Checkpoint SHP1. Cancer Discov 2022 Apr 14;candisc.0900.2021.doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-21-0900. Online ahead of print. MD Anderson News Room
Napoli M‡, Wu S‡, Gore B, Abbas H, Lee K, Checker R, Dhar SS, Rajapakshe K, Tan AC, Lee MG*, Coarfa C*, and Flores ER*. ΔNp63 regulates a common landscape of enhancer associated genes in non-small cell lung cancer. ‡Co-first author, *Co-corresponding authors. Nature Communications Feb 1;13(1):614, 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28202-1
Zhao X#, Wei Y#, Chu YY, Li Y, Hsu JM, Jiang Z, Liu C, Hsu JL, Chang WC, Yang R, Chan LC, Qu J, Zhang S, Ying H, Yu D*, Hung MC*. Phosphorylation and stabilization of PD-L1 by CK2 suppresses dendritic cell function. Cancer Res. April 6, 2022 (Epub online). doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-21-2300. #Equal Contribution; *Co-corresponding authors.
Park MK*, Zhang L*, Min KW, Cho JH, Yeh CC, Moon H, Aguila DH, Mun H, Ko S, Lee JW, Jathar S, Smith AB, Yao Y, Giang NT, Vu HH, Yan VC, Bridges MC, Kourtidis A, Muller F, Chang JH, Song SJ, Nakagawa S, Hirose T, Yoon JH#, Song MS#. NEAT1 Is essential for metabolic changes that promote breast cancer growth and metastasis. Cell Metab Dec 7;33(12):2380-2397.e9. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2021.11.011 *Equal contribution. #Co-corresponding authors. MD Anderson News Room
Li HZ*, Xiao Y*, Li Q, Yao J, Yuan XL, Zhang Y, Yin XD, Saito Y, Fan HH, Li P, Halpin A, Gibbons DL, Yagita H, Zhao ZM, Pang D, Ren GS, Yee C, Lee JJ, Yu D. The allergy mediator histamine confers immunotherapy resistance in cancer patients via activation of the macrophage histamine receptor 1. Cancer
Cell S1535-6108(21)00602-4. doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2021.11.002. (Nov 18, Epub online), 2021. *Equal contribution. MD Anderson News Room
Kwan SY, Jiao J, Joon A, Wei P, Petty LE, Below JE, Daniel CR, Wu X, Zhang J, Jenq RR, Futreal PA, Hawk ET, McCormick JB, Fisher-Hoch SP, Beretta L. Gut Microbiome Features Associated with Liver Fibrosis in Hispanics, a Population at High Risk for Fatty Liver Disease. Hepatology (Oct 11, Online ahead of print), 2021. doi: 10.1002/hep.32197.
FY21
Li Y#, Zhang Y#, Hu Q, Egranov SD, Xing Z, Zhang Z, Liang K, Ye Y, Pan Y, Chatterjee SS, Mistretta B, Nguyen TK, Hawke DH, Gunaratne PH, Hung MC, Han L, Yang L*, Lin C*. Functional significance of gain-of-function H19 lncRNA in skeletal muscle differentiation and anti-obesity effects. Genome Med. Aug 28;13(1):137, 2021. doi: 10.1186/s13073-021-00937-4. #Equal contribution; *Co-corresponding authors
Ye Z, Xu S, Shi Y, Bacolla A, Syed A, Moiani D, Tsai CL, Shen Q, Peng G, Leonard PG, Jones DE, Wang B, Tainer JA*, Zamal A*. GRB2 enforces homology-directed repair initiation by MRE11. Sci Adv Aug 4; 7(32): eaber9254, 2021. DOI:10.1126/sciadv.abe9254.
Li Y#, TanZ#, Zhang Y#, Zhang Z, Hu Q, Liang K, Yao J, Ye Y, Li YC, Li C, Liao L, Xu J, Xing Z, Pan Y, Chatterjee SS, Nguyen TK, Hsiao H, Egranov SD, Putluri N, Coarfa C, Hawke DH, Gunaratne PH, Tsi KL, Han L, Hung MC, Calin GA, Namour F, Guéant JL, Muntau AC, Blau N, Sutton VR, Schiff M, Feillet F*, Lin C*, Zhang S*, Yang L*. A noncoding RNA modulator potentiates phenylalanine metabolism in mice. Science Aug 6;373(6555):662-673, 2021. doi: 10.1126/science.aba4991. #Equal contribution; *Co-corresponding authors.
Hambarde S, Tsia CL, Pandiat RK, Bacolla A, Maitra A, Charaka V, Hunt CR, Kumar R, Limobo L, Le Meur R, Chazin WJ, Tsutakawa S, Russell P, Schlacher K, Panditat TJ*, Tainer JA*. EXO5-DNA structure and BLM interactions direct DNA resection critical for ATR-dependent replication restart, Molecular Cell Jun 24:S1097-2765(21)00420-2, 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2021.05.027. *Co-corresponding authors.
Yan L, Tu B, Yao J, Gong J, Carugo A, Bristow CA, Wang Q, Zhu C, Dai B, Kang Y, Han L, Feng N, Jin Y, Fleming J, Heffernan TP, Yao W, Ying H. Targeting glucose metabolism sensitizes pancreatic cancer to MEK inhibition. Cancer Res. Jun 11;canres.3792.2020, 2021. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3792. Online ahead of print.
*Yang R†, Sun L†, Li CF, Wang YH, Yao J, Li H, Yan M, Chang WC, Hsu JM, Cha JH, Hsu JL, Chou CW, Sun X, Deng Y, Chou CK, Yu D, *Hung MC. Galectin-9 interacts with PD-1 and TIM-3 to regulate T cell death and is a target for cancer immunotherapy †Equal contribution *co-corresponding authors. Galectin-9 interacts with PD-1 and TIM-3 to regulate T cell death and is a target for cancer immunotherapy †Equal contribution *co-corresponding authors. Nature Comm Feb 5; 12:832, 2021. PMC7864927. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21099-2
Hammel M, Rashid I, Sverzhinsky A, Pourfarjam Y, Tsai MS, Ellenberger T, Pascal JM, *Kim IK, *Tainer JA, *Tomkinson AE. An atypical BRCT–BRCT interaction with the XRCC1 scaffold protein compacts human DNA Ligase IIIα within a flexible DNA repair complex. Nucleic Acids Res. Jan 11;49(1):306-321, 2021 (Dec 16, 2020 online ahead of print). PMC7797052. doi:10.1093/nar/gkaa1188. **Co-corresponding authors
FY20
Houl JH, Ye Z, Brosey CA, Balapiti-Modarage LPF, Namjoshi S, Bacolla A, Laverty D, Walker BL, Pourfarjam Y, Warden LS, Babu Chinnam N, Moiani D, Stegeman RA, Chen MK, Hung MC, Nagel ZD, Ellenberger T, Kim IK, Jones DE, Ahmed Z, Tainer JA. Selective small molecule PARG inhibitor causes replication fork stalling and cancer cell death. Nature Communications Dec 11;10(1):5654, 2019. *T32 trainee. PMC6906431. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-13508-4
Tsai CL, Tripp P, Sivabalasarma S, Zhang C, Rodriguez-Franco M, Wipfler RL, Chaudhury P, Banerjee A, Beeby M, Whitaker RJ, #Tainer JA, #Albers SV. The periplasmic FlaG/F complex structure and its essential role for archaellar swimming motility. Nature Microbiology Jan;5(1):216-225. 2020. #Co-corresponding authors. PMC6952060. doi: 10.1038/s41564-019-0622-3
#Alam H, #Tang M, Maitituoheti M, Dhar SS, Kumar M, Han CY, Ambati CR, Amin SB, Gu B, Chen TY, Lin YH, Chen J, Muller FL, Putluri N, Flores
ER, DeMayo FJ, Baseler L, *Rai K, *Lee MG . KMT2D deficiency impairs super-enhancers to confer a glycolytic vulnerability in lung cancer. Cancer
Cell April 13; 37:599‒617 (Epub Apr 2) e7, 2020. #equal contribution. *co-corresponding authors. PMC7178078. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2020.03.005
#*Xu D, #Wang Z, Xia Y, Shao F, Xia W, Wei Y, Li X, Qian X, Lee JH, Du L, Zheng Y, Lv G, Leu JS, Wang H, Xing D, Liang T, *Hung MC, *Lu Z.
The gluconeogenic enzyme PCK1phosphorylates INSIG1/2 for lipogenesis. Nature Apr;580(7804):530-535, 2020. #equal contribution and *co-corresponding authors. Dr. Daqian Xu was an Odyssey Fellow in MCO and has been recruited as a tenure-track faculty by another institution. PMID:
32322062.doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2183-2
Zhang L, Yao J, Wei Y, Zou ZF, Li P, Qu JK, Badu-Nkansah A, Yuan XL, Huang YW, Fukumura K, Mao X, Chang WC, Saunus J, Lakhani S, Huse J,
Hung MC, Yu D. Blocking immunosuppressive neutrophils deters pY696-EZH2-driven brain metastases. Science Translational Medicine May 27;
12(545):eaaz5387, 2020. PMID32461334. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aaz5387
Tsutakawa SE, Sarker AH, Ng C, Arvai AS, Shin DS, Shih B, Jiang S, Thwin AC, Tsai MS, Willcox A, Her MZ, Trego KS, Raetz AG, Rosenberg D,
Bacolla A, Hammel M, Griffith JD, Cooper PK, Tainer JA. Human XPG nuclease structure, assembly and activities with insights for neurodegeneration and cancer from pathogenic mutations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Jun 23;117(25)14127-14138, 2020. PMC7321962. doi:10.1073/pnas.1921311117
Hou J, Zhao R, Xia W, Chang CW, You Y, Hsu JM, Nie L, Chen Y, Wang YC, Liu C, Wang WJ, Wu Y, Ke B, Hsu JH, Huang K, Ye Z, Yang Y, Xia X,
Li Y, Li CW, Shao B, Tainer JA, Hung MC. PD-L1-mediated Gasdermin C expression switches apoptosis to pyroptosis in cancer cells and facilitates tumor necrosis. Nature Cell Biology, Oct;22(10):1264-1275 (Sept 14 Epub online) 2020. doi: 10.1038/s41556-020-0575-z. PMC7653546
Liu CX†, Zha Z†, Zhou C†, Chen Y, Xia W, Wang YN, Lee HH, Yin Y, Yan M. Chang CW, Qiu Y, Li H, Li CW, Hsu JM, Hsu JL, Wang SC, Ren
N*, Hung MC*. Ribonuclease 7-driven activation of ROS1 is a new potential therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma. J of Hepatology Apr;74(4):907-918, (Oct 5, Epub online, 2020), 2021. PMCID:7979498. † Equal contribution; *Co-corresponding authors
Thapar R, Wang JL, Hammel M, Ye R, Liang, K, Sun C, Hnizda A, Liang S, Maw SS, Lee L, Villarreal H, Forrester I, Fang S, Tsai MS, Blundell TL, Davis AJ, Lin C, Lees-Miller S, Strick TR, and Tainer, JA. Mechanism of efficient double-strand break repair by a long non-coding RNA. Nucleic Acids Res, Nov
4;48(19):10953-10972 (Oct 12 Epub online), 2020. PMC7641761, doi: 10.1093/nar/gkaa784
Zhang Y†, Li Y†, Hu Q, Xing Z, Zhang Z, Hung L, Wu J, Liang K, Nguyen TK, Egranov SD, Sun C, Zhao Z, Hawke DH, Li J, Sun D, Kim JJ, Zhang
P, Cheng J, Farida A, Hung MC, Han L, Darabi R, Lin C*, Yang L*. LncRNA H19 alleviates muscular dystrophy through stabilizing dystrophin. Nature Cell Biology Nov;22(11):1332-1345, 2020. PMID33106653. doi:10.1038/s41556-020-00595-5 (Oct 26 Epub online), 2020. *Co-corresponding authors. † Equal contribution.
Bacolla A, Sengupta S, Ye Z, Yang C, Mitra J, De-Paula RB, Hegde ML, Ahmed Z, Mort M, Cooper DN, Mitra S, Tainer JA. Heritable pattern of oxidized DNA base repair coincides with pre-targeting of repair complexes to open chromatin. Nucleic Acids Res. Jan 11;49(1):221-243, 2021(Dec 9, 2020 online ahead of print). PMC7797072. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkaa1120
FY19
Hammel M, Rashid I, Sverzhinsky A, Pourfarjam Y, Tsai MS, Ellenberger T, Pascal JM, *Kim IK, *Tainer JA, *Tomkinson AE. An atypical BRCT–BRCT interaction with the XRCC1 scaffold protein compacts human DNA Ligase IIIα within a flexible DNA repair complex. Nucleic Acids Res. Jan 11;49(1):306-321, 2021 (Dec 16, 2020 online ahead of print). PMC7797052. doi:10.1093/nar/gkaa1188. **Co-corresponding authors
Ko SY, Lee W, Kenny HA, Dang LH, Ellis LM, Jonasch EW, Lengyel E & Naora H. Cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles promote angiogenesis by heparin-bound, bevacizumab-insensitive VEGF, independent of vesicle uptake. Comm Biol Oct 18;2, 386, 2019. (a Nature new journal, and estimated impact factor 10-12). PMC6802217. doi:10.1038/s42003-019-0609-x
Hu Q, Ye Y, Chan LC, Li Y, Liang K, Lin A, Egranov SD, Zhang Y, Xia W, Gong J, Pan Y, Chattterjee SS, Yao J, Evans KW, Nguyen TK, Park PK, Liu J, Coarfa C, Donepudi SR, Putluri V, Putluri N, Hawke DH, Marks JR, Gunaratne PH, Caudle AS, Sahin AA, Hortobagyi GN, Meric-Bernstam M, Chen L, Yu D, Hung MC, Curran MA, Han L, Lin C, Yang L. Oncogenic LncRNA downregulates cancer cell antigen presentation and intrinsic tumor suppression. Nature Immunology 20(7):835-851, 2019.
Park MK, Yao Y, Xia W, Setijono SR, Kim JH, Vila I, Chiu HH, Wu Y, Billalabeitia E, Lee MG, Kalb RG, Hung MC, Pandolfi PP, Song SJ, Song MS. PTEN self-regulates through USP11 via the PI3K-FOXO pathway to stabilize tumor suppression. Nature Communications 10(1):636, 2019.
Li Y, Hu Q, Li C, Liang K, Xiang Y, Hsiao H, Nguyen TK, Park PK, Egranov SD, Ambati CR, Putluri N, Hawke DH, Han L, Hung MC, Danesh FR, Yang L, Lin C, PTEN-induced Partial epithelial-mesenchymal transition drives diabetic kidney Disease. J. Clinic. Invest. 129(3):1129-1151, 2019
Li H, Li CW, Li X, Ding Q, Guo L, Liu C, Lai CC, Hsu JM, Dong Q, Xia W, Hsu JL, Yamaguchi H, Du Y, Lai YJ, Koller PB, Ye Q, Hung MC. c-MET inhibitors induce immune resistance through PD-L1 stabilization in hepatocellular carcinoma. Gastroenterology 156(6):1849-1861, 2019.
Hu Q, Li , Wang SY, Li Y, Wen B, Zhang YY, Liang K, Yao J, Ye YQ, Hsiao H, Nguyen TK, Park PK, Egranov SD, Hawke DH, Marks JR, Han L, Hung MC, Zhang B, Lin C, Yang L. LncRNAs-directed PTEN enzymatic switch governs epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Cell Res 29(4):286-304, 2019.
Yang Y, Hsu JM, Sun L, Li CW, Chan LC, Wei Y, Xia W, Hou J, Hsu JL, Hung MC. Palmitoylation stabilizes PD-L1 to promote breast tumor growth. Cell Res 29(1):83-86, 2019.
Lee W, Ko SY, Mohamed MS, Kenny HA, Lengyel E, Naora H. Neutrophils facilitate ovarian cancer pre-metastatic niche formation in the omentum. J Exp Med 7;216(1):176-194, 2019.
Liu Y, Qin S, Chen T-Y, Lei M, Dhar SS, Ho JC, Dong A, Loppnau P, Li Y, Lee MG‡, & Min J‡ A novel binding mode of histone H4 by MLL3/4 provides insights into a trans-histone regulatory mechanism of H3K4 methylation ‡Co-corresponding author. Nature Communications 3;10(1):36, 2019.
Wilkinson AE, Diep J, Dai S, Liu S, Ooi YS, Song D, Li TM, Horton JR, Zhang X, Liu C, Trivedi DV, Ruppel KM, Vilches-Moure JG, Casey KM, Mak J, Cowan T, Elias JE, Nagamine CM, Spudich JA, Cheng X*, Carette JE*, Gozani O*. SETD3 is an actin histidine methyltransferase that prevents primary dystocia. *Co-corresponding authors. Nature 565(7739):372-376, 2019.
Yang Y, Hsu JM, Sun L, Chan LC, Li CW, Hsu JL, Wei Y, Xia W, Hou J, Qiu Y, Hung MC. Palmitoylation stabilizes PD-L1 to promote breast tumor growth. Cell Res 29(1):83-86, 2019.
Lee HH, Wang YN, Xia W, Chen CH, Rau KM, Ye L, Wei Y, Chou CK, Wang SC, Yan M, Tu CY, Hsia TC, Chiang SF, Chao KSC, Wistuba II, Hsu JL, Hortobagyi GN, Hung MC. Removal of N-Linked Glycosylation Enhances PD-L1 Detection and Predicts Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 Therapeutic Efficacy. Cancer Cell 2019 Aug 12;36(2):168-178.e4..