Xufeng Chen Laboratory
Xufeng Chen, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Areas of Research
- Cancer Biology
- CRISPR Screens
- Immunology
- Immunotherapy
- Leukemia
- Mitochondria
- Targeted Therapy
- Tumor Microenvironment
We are interested in understanding the mechanisms of cancer-associated immune evasion, establishing their connections with treatment efficacy and reversing immune evasion to improve treatment outcomes. To achieve this goal, we integrate various cutting-edge experimental and computational approaches in the areas of functional genomics, cell biology, biochemistry, single cell/spatial multi-omics, data mining, drug screening and disease modeling.
Meet Dr. Chen
Xufeng Chen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Hematopoietic Biology and Malignancy
Dr. Chen graduated from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences with a Ph.D. in cell biology and completed postdoctoral training at New York University Langone Medical School. He joined MD Anderson Cancer Center as an assistant professor in March 2025.
Dr. Chen has an excellent track record of highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research in stem cell biology, cancer biology and immunology, as demonstrated by recent first and co-first author papers:
- Stem cell biology: (Chen, Zhang et al., Cell Res, 2014; Zhao, Chen et al., PNAS, 2017; Chen, Zhao et al., Nat Commun, 2018)
- Leukemia biology: (Chen et al., Lancet Haematol, 2018; Chen, Glytsou et al., Cancer Discov, 2019; Glytsou, Chen et al., Cancer Discov, 2023)
- Immunology/ Cancer immunology: (Cui, Chen et al., Cell Rep, 2016; Chen, Lu et al., Cell, 2023; Wang, Qiao, Chen et al., Trends Immunol, 2024)
Wang J*, Qiao L*, Chen X*, Aifantis I. (2024). Targeting MHC-I inhibitory pathways for cancer immunotherapy. Trends Immunol 45(3):177-187. 10.1016/j.it.2024.01.009.
Chen X*, Lu Q*, Zhou H, Liu J, Nadorp B, Lasry A, Sun Z, Lai B, Rona G, Zhang J, et al. (2023). A membrane-associated MHC-I inhibitory axis for cancer immune evasion. Cell 186(18):3903-3920.e21. 10.1016/j.cell.2023.07.016.
Glytsou C*, Chen X*, Zacharioudakis E*, Al-Santli W, Zhou H, Nadorp B, Lee S, Lasry A, Sun Z, Papaioannou D, et al. (2023). Mitophagy Promotes Resistance to BH3 Mimetics in Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Cancer Discov 13, 1656-1677. 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-22-0601.
Chen X*, Glytsou C*, Zhou H, Narang S, Reyna DE, Lopez A, Sakellaropoulos T, Gong Y, Kloetgen A, Yap YS, et al. (2019). Targeting Mitochondrial Structure Sensitizes Acute Myeloid Leukemia to Venetoclax Treatment. Cancer Discov 9, 890-909. 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-19-0117.
Chen X*, Zhao J*, Gu C, Cui Y, Dai Y, Song G, Liu H, Shen H, Liu Y, Wang Y, et al. (2018). Med23 serves as a gatekeeper of the myeloid potential of hematopoietic stem cells. Nat Commun 9, 3746. 10.1038/s41467-018-06282-2.
Chen X, Aifantis I. (2018). The effect of chromatin states on cancer: big data lead the way. Lancet Haematol 5, e237-e238. 10.1016/S2352-3026(18)30066-8.
Zhao J*, Chen X*, Song G, Zhang J, Liu H, Liu X. (2017). Uhrf1 controls the self-renewal versus differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells by epigenetically regulating the cell-division modes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 114, E142-E151. 10.1073/pnas.1612967114.
Cui Y*, Chen X*, Zhang J, Sun X, Liu H, Bai L, Xu C, Liu X (2016). Uhrf1 Controls iNKT Cell Survival and Differentiation through the Akt-mTOR Axis. Cell Rep 15, 256-263. 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.03.016.
Chen X*, Zhang J*, Zhao J, Liu H, Sun X, Zhao M, Liu X. (2014). Lis1 is required for the expansion of hematopoietic stem cells in the fetal liver. Cell Res 24, 1013-1016. 10.1038/cr.2014.69.
* indicates co-first author
Contact Us
Contact Dr. Chen:
Email: XChen25@MDAnderson.org
Phone: 346-725-7027
Office: South Campus Research Building 2, Room 2SCR4.2022
Mailing Address:
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Hematopoietic Biology and Malignancy
1515 Holcombe Blvd
Unit 0952
Houston, TX 77030-4009