Ming Chen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in Pathology
Principle Investigator
ming.chen318@duke.edu
Dr. Ming Chen received his undergraduate training at the East China Normal University, where he also completed a Master’s degree in Biology. He then obtained his PhD in Pathology at the University of Rochester, where he conducted his graduate work in the laboratory of Shuyuan Yeh on the role of estrogens and estrogen receptors in normal and neoplastic prostate development. Ming then joined the laboratory of Pier Paolo Pandolfi at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School as a research fellow, where he mainly focused on the use of mouse models to study the molecular and genetic events that cooperate with PTEN loss in driving metastatic disease. Ming joined the faculty of Duke Department of Pathology as an Assistant Professor in 2018 and was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2022, with a continued interest in mechanisms of metastasis and translating new insights into therapies to combat human cancer.

 

 

 

Wei-Ling Tu, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
wei-ling.tu@duke.edu
Wei-Ling completed her BSc from the Department of Biotechnology at the National Kaohsiung Normal University in Taiwan. She subsequently obtained both her MSc and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Life Sciences and Institute of Genome Sciences at the National Yang-Ming University under the mentorship of Prof. Chun-Ming Chen. Using mice and organoids as model systems, Wei-Ling has dedicated her previous research to investigating the cells-of-origin and potential therapeutic strategies of various cancer types, including liver and ovary. She also conducted investigations into the role of Dph1 in liver tumorigenesis. In the Chen lab, Wei-Ling’s primary focus is on understanding and targeting CDK12-mutant advanced prostate cancer. 

 

 

 

Mu-En Wang, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
muen.wang@duke.edu
Mu-En received a BSc from the Department of Animal Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. After that, he earned his PhD degree under the supervision of Dr. Chih-Hsien Chiu, for his study on the role of dietary medium-chain fatty acids in hepatic autophagy regulations and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis progression. During his graduate study, Mu-En also completed his visiting research in Dr. Paul Yen’s Lab in Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, to investigate the effects of protein acetylation and hepatic autophagy regulations. In the Chen lab, Mu-En is studying the mechanisms of ferroptosis and its therapeutic potential in the treatment of aggressive prostate cancer.

 

 

 

Ji-Hoon (Jay) Kim, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
jihoon.kim@duke.edu
Jay earned his BSc in Animal Biotechnology with a minor in Life Sciences from Sahmyook University, Seoul, South Korea. His undergraduate research was focused on developmental biology and microbiology. He then pursued advanced studies at School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, where he received both his MSc and PhD degrees in Dental Science, majoring in Oral Pathology and Cancer Biology, under the mentorship of Prof. Hye-Jung Yoon and Prof. Sung-Dae Cho. Jay utilized both in vitro assays and in vivo xenograft mouse models of head and neck cancer to explore the anticancer properties and apoptosis mechanisms of natural products and their bioactive compounds, aiming to develop novel therapeutic strategies and improve the precision of cancer diagnostics. Additionally, he was involved in utilizing patient-derived samples to identify molecular markers that hold promise for advancing the treatment of head and neck cancers. In the Chen lab, Jay is focusing on the role of the DNA damage response in prostate cancer etiology and progression.

 

 

 

Changxin Wan
Graduate Student
changxin.wan@duke.edu
Changxin received his BSc and MSc from Tongji University in Shanghai, China. During his master’s training, he worked on gene cis-regulation resources and tools including Cistrome Data Browser, Cistrome DB Toolkit, Cistrome-GO, Lisa and MAESTRO under the supervision of Dr. Shirley Liu. He is now a PhD candidate in Dr. Zhicheng (Jason) Ji’s lab focusing on single-cell multiomics data analysis and algorithm development. In the Chen lab, Changxin is studying the mechanisms of prostate cancer metastasis using single-cell multiome data.

 

 

 

Emily Lin
Undergraduate Student
emily.lin@duke.edu
Emily is currently an undergraduate student at Duke University working toward her BSc in Biology on the pre-med track. She joined the Chen Lab in 2023 as a Research Intern, assisting with the investigation of the mechanisms of ferroptosis. Currently, her work as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Chen Lab focuses on the role of large chromosomal deletions in cancer.

 

 

 

 

Alyssa Bawcom
Research Technician II
alyssa.bawcom@duke.edu
Alyssa received her BSc in Psychology and minor in Forensic Studies from the University of West Florida. In addition to assisting with the research in the Chen Lab, she is currently a graduate student working towards her MSc in Psychology with Arizona State University.

 

 

 

 

 

Yi Lu
Research Associate/Lab Manager
lu.yi@duke.edu
Yi received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the East China Normal University. She had then been a faculty member teaching Science and Math at Shanghai Changzheng Secondary School for three years before she earned her Master’s degree in applied statistics from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

 

 

 

 

Myanh Ta 
Grants and Contracts Manager
myanh.ta@duke.edu
Myanh Ta joined Duke as a grants and contracts administrator (GCA) in September 2022. As a GCA, she supports Dr. Chen’s lab in applying for and managing sponsored research projects. She is native to North Carolina and prior to her work at Duke, she spent 5 years working with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Myanh’s enthusiasm for organized processes has helped her be of assistance to Chen Lab as well as other labs in Duke’s Department of Pathology. In her free time Myanh enjoys exploring North Carolina’s food scene with her friends and walking trails with her faithful dog, Roo.

 

 

 

Lab Alumni

Postdoctoral Fellows
Meredith Davis —
Eden Jacob — Postdoctoral Fellow, Duke Department of Ophthalmology
Blake Zhang — Senior Scientist, Sanofi

Graduate Students
Zoe Loh — Postdoctoral Fellow, NC State College of Veterinary Medicine
Jinjin Wu — Scientist, SystImmune

Visiting Scholars
Jiaqi Chen — Physician at The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China.
Yubin Wang — Associate Chief Physician in the Dept. of Urology at Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, The Affiliated People’s Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi, China.
Fengqi Yan — PhD student at the Fourth Military Medical University in Xi’an, China.