Professor Chuanyuan Li received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Harvard University, and his postdoctoral studies at Harvard. He worked as an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Full Professor at Duke University School of Medicine in the United States beginning in 1997. He served as a lifelong professor in Cancer Biology, Pharmacology, and Dermatology and was the Deputy Director of Research in the Dermatology Department. Professor Li will commence full-time work at the CIMR in 2023. Over the years, he has been involved in research on the mechanisms of tumor development, resistance mechanisms of tumors to radiation and chemotherapy, and the discovery of new molecular targets to enhance tumor immunotherapy. In these fields, he has achieved numerous innovative and impactful research results. He has over 150 peer-reviewed scholarly articles, many of which have appeared in prestigious journals such as Nature, Nature Medicine, Cell Stem Cell, and Molecular Cell, among others. Two innovative achievements in tumor immunotherapy from his research have entered the clinical trial phase.

Dr. Guomin Li received his bachelor’s and PhD degrees from Wuhan University’s Department of Biology and Wayne State University’s Department of Chemistry, respectively. He worked as a postdoctoral Investigator in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Modrich, the 2015 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, at Duke University, where he made substantial contributions to the award-winning work. Professor Li was an Endowed Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the director of the Reece A. Overcash, Jr. Center for Research on Colon Cancer before he was appointed a Distinguished Investigator at the Capital Medical Science Innovation Center.   Professor Li’s laboratory is dedicated to studying DNA mismatch repair (MMR), a critical cellular mechanism ensuring the accuracy of DNA replication. His work contributes to understanding MMR and its role in cancer susceptibility and treatment. He discovered that MMR defects form the molecular basis for various hereditary and sporadic cancers. Professor Li purified and identified most components required for human MMR and reconstructed human MMR reactions in vitro. His lab found that epigenetic factors, including histone modifications and mutations, are crucial components and regulators of MMR. Recently, his laboratory elucidated how MMR-deficient tumors activate the cGAS-STING pathway to promote tumor immune checkpoint therapy.

Dr. Deguang Liang received his bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Sun Yat-sen University, and his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He conducted his postdoctoral research with Dr. Xuejun Jiang at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He will join CIMR as assistant investigator in 2024. His previous studies have been published in prestigious journals such as Cell, Molecular Cell, and Cell Research, among others.   Dr. Liang’s lab is dedicated to studying the molecular regulation and biological function of phospholipid (PL) metabolism pathways (e.g., PL de novo synthesis, remodeling, transport, etc.) under different physiological and pathological conditions. PLs are major components of cell membranes, and the dynamic changes in PL composition, on the one hand, regulate the physicochemical properties of cell membranes and influence cellular functions (such as cell migration, phagocytosis, exocytosis, autophagy, mitochondrial aerobic respiration, etc.). On the other hand, they also modulate the sensitivity of cells to ferroptosis (an emerging form of regulated cell death caused by iron-mediated PL peroxidation) and affect the occurrence and progression of related diseases (such as tumors, neurodegenerative diseases, ischemia-reperfusion injury, etc.). Therefore, investigating the intricate feedback regulation of cellular PL metabolism pathways holds significant importance for both basic and translational research.

Dr. Lin Mei pioneered our apprehension of the development and function of synapses - nerve cell contacts critical to the communication between neurons. He revealed molecular mechanisms of the formation of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), a special synapse critical to our mobility. He discovered that LRP4, a molecule critical to NMJ formation, serves as the receptor for agrin, solving a decade-old mystery. By solving the crystal structure of an agrin-LRP4 complex, he revealed how signal is transduced from agrin to the downstream kinase MuSK. Dr. Mei also uncovered LRP4 antibodies as a new biomarker for myasthenia gravis that otherwise cannot be diagnosed. He recently revealed rapsyn, a classic “adapter protein”, undergoes phase condensation and is in fact an enzyme whose activity is necessary for NMJ formation, uncovering brand-new mechanisms. Dr. Mei has also discovered an important homeostatic control of brain activity by neuregulin 1 and its receptor ErbB4, both risk genes of major depression and schizophrenia. Dr. Mei’s paradigm-shifting works have been described in neuroscience textbooks and have an enormous impact on clinical practice. For example, a test he invented to detect LRP4 antibodies has been used worldwide in the clinic to diagnose myasthenia gravis. Dr. Mei led a consortium of seventeen clinical centers in the US to study newly identified biomarkers in myasthenia gravis. Many of his trainees including 12 PhD students have become independent scientists.         Dr. Mei is currently the founding Director, Chinese Institutes for Medical Research, Beijing. In 2017-2023, he was the Chair, Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio and the founding Director of Cleveland Brain Health Initiative that brings together the collaborative expertise of ~500 scientists and clinicians in Cleveland to improve brain health. Earlier, he was on faculty at the University of Virginia, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Medical College of Georgia where he established a new Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine.   

Dr. Rao has established several scientific institutions, including Shanghai Institute for Advanced Studies, the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, the IDG McGovern Institute for Brain Research at PKU, the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, the Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing (CIBR), and the Chinese Institutes for Medical Research, Beijing (CIMR). He also established or initiated several scientific prizes, such as the Future Science Prize, the Xplorer Prize and the New Cornerstone program.     The Rao laboratory has studied genes important for neuro development and molecular mechanisms of behaviors.     The Rao laboratory at CIMR focuses on genes and molecular interactions to study biology and pathophysiology related to human health, trying to understand mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis and to improve treatment of human diseases.

Professor Xu Tan obtained his bachelor’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Science and Technology of China and the University of Washington in Seattle, respectively. During graduate school, he worked with Dr. Ning Zheng and identified the first molecular glue degrader. He conducted postdoctoral research on genetics and virology with Dr. Stephen Elledge at Harvard Medical School. From 2014 to 2023, he ran his own laboratory at Tsinghua University before joining the CIMR in 2023. His lab conducts studies on virus-host interactions and antiviral drug discovery using high-throughput screening technologies for SARS-CoV2, HIV, hepatitis B, and Zika viruses. Professor Tan has first-author and corresponding-author publications in high-impact journals such as Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Microbiology, Cell Host & Microbe, Cell Research, Nature Communications, and PNAS, which have been cited over 6000 times. He has led an international cooperation project and two sub-projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Key Research and Development Program. He has also won grants of the National Natural Science Foundation’s Excellent Young Scientist and General Programs. For his scientific accomplishments, Dr. Tan was awarded the Bayer Investigator Award, the Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellowship, the  GE and Science Magazine Young Life Scientist Award etc. His lab has generated several national and international patents.

Professor Hong-Hu Zhu got his Ph.D. from Peking University under the supervision of Professor Daopei Lu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He is a member of the International Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) Foundation, a member of the Asia‐Pacific Leukemia Consortium, a standing committee member of the Hematology-Oncology Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, an executive committee member of the China Association of Chinese Medicine Blood Disease Branch, a committee member of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Group of Chinese Society of Hematology in Chinese Medical Association, and the deputy director of the Cell Analysis Committee, Chinese Society of Biotechnology.   Professor Zhu has worked in hematology for 29 years, specializing in clinical and translational research in acute leukemia. His primary academic achievements include:   First, establishing a unique chemo-free outpatient treatment model with oral arsenics ad ATRA for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), with a cure rate of more than 95%.【J Clin Oncol(2013)、N Eng J Med(2014a，2014b)、Lancet Oncol(2018)、Blood(2016, 2018, 2019),J Hematol Oncol(2022)】   Second, establishing the DAV (daunorubicin, cytarabine, and homoharringtonine) regimen as front-line treatment for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with a complete remission  rate exceeding 90%.【Lancet Haematol 2022】   Third, Pioneering the definition of a new subtype of leukemia, RARG rearranged AML for the first time internationally.【Leukemia 2018、Leuk Res 2019, Blood Advance 2023】   Professor Zhu is at the forefront of developing efficient, low-toxicity leukemia treatment procedures and tailored diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in China. 

Dr. Yu Zhang conducted postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital from 2005 to 2012. From 2013 to 2022, he served as  an assistant Investigator at the National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing (NIBS, Beijing). In 2023, he joined the Chinese Institutes for Medical Research, Beijing (CIMR) as an associate Investigator. Dr. Zhang has published studies in major journals such as Cell, Circulation, Cell Research, Genome Biology, Nature Communications, and PNAS, among others. His papers have been referenced more than 6700 times, and he has an H-index of 29. His research group focuses on developing and utilizing functional genomics screening, multi-omics high-throughput sequencing technologies, and bioinformatics analysis. By combining in vivo and in vitro mouse models with human tumor models, they investigate the regulatory mechanisms of key molecules in tumor immunity. Dr. Zhang’s team aims to develop new methods for tumor immunotherapy and translate research findings into clinical applications.