Chen Laboratory

Yang Chen, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Translational Molecular Pathology. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Jilin University in 2008 and his Ph.D. degree at Tsinghua University in 2014. He received his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Raghu Kalluri at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Chen’s postdoctoral training in the research field of cancer biology and tumor microenvironment was very productive, leading to the publication of six first-author papers and one co-first-author paper in impactful journals (Chen et al., Cancer Cell 2022; Chen et al., Cancer Cell 2021; McAndrews, Chen, Darpolor et al., Cancer Discovery 2022; Chen et al., Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology 2021; Chen et al., Nature Communications 2021; Chen et al., EMBO Mol Med 2018; Chen et al., PLoS Biology 2018).

Dr. Chen’s studies established a variety of novel transgenic mouse models that allow the genetic knockout of important proteins in specific cell populations. These novel mouse models, in combination with single-cell sequencing and other multi-omics analyses, discovered the functional roles and heterogeneity of important proteins and cell types. These studies identified the interactions between cancer cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, immune cells, stromal components, and tumor microbiome, which provided new insights into the development of new biomarkers and therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Chen’s prior studies also provided the solid foundation for his independent research projects. The Chen Laboratory further integrates computational biology (utilizing single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and other multi-omics analyses) with experimental biology (utilizing novel transgenic mouse models of cancers and in vitro mechanistic validation), to identify novel therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers in pancreatic cancer and other diseases.