Group leader
TIAN Chenxi is a Principal Investigator in CAS Key Laboratory of Genomic and Precision Medicine in Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr TIAN received her B.S degree from Tsinghua University in 2006 and Ph.D. degree in developmental biology from Cornell University in 2013. She then moved to MIT in the laboratories of Dr. Richard Hynes to perform research first as a postdoctoral fellow, then as a research scientist. She was recruited as a principal investigator in BIG, CAS in 2021.
Introduction
Dr. TIAN’s research interest lies in tumor microenvironment (TME), and more specifically, extracellular matrix (ECM) in the TME. Her research goal is to spatially delineate TME to understand the functional consequences and use TME components as drug and diagnostic reagent delivery targets. She has published in renown peer-reviewed journals including Nature Communications, PNAS, Cancer Research, etc. She was awarded the prestigious Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Current research interests
1. Characterization of tumor spatial microenvironment by developing antibody-barcode-conjugate to localize extracellular proteins and transcriptomes by spatial RNA sequencing.
2. Functional interrogation of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in the TME
3. Using the tumor-specific/associated ECM changes to develop tumor-targeting nanobodies for non-invasive diagnostic imaging and therapeutics.
Selected Publications
1. Tian C, Huang Y, Clauser KR, Rickelt S, Lau AN, Carr SA, Vander Heiden MG, Hynes RO*. Suppression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma growth and metastasis by fibrillar collagens produced selectively by tumor cells. Nature Communications, 2021 Apr 20, 12(1):2328
2. Tian C, Öhlund D, Rickelt S, Lidström T, Huang Y, Hao L, Zhao RT, Franklin O, Bhatia SN, Tuveson DA, Hynes RO*. Cancer-cell-derived matrisome proteins promote metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cancer Research, 2020 Apr 1, 80(7):1461-1474
3. Tian C, Clauser KR, Öhlund D, Rickelt S, Huang Y, Gupta M, Mani, DR, Carr SA, Tuveson DA and Hynes RO*. Proteomic study of ECM during pancreatic cancer progression reveals different contributions by tumor and stromal cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2019 Sep 24, 116(39):19609-19618
4. Tian C, Shi H, Xiong S, Hu F, Xiong WC, Liu J*. The neogenin/DCC homolog UNC-40 promotes BMP signaling via the RGM protein DRAG-1 in C. elegans. Development, 2013 Oct, 140(19):4070-80
5. Tian C, Colledge C, Shi H, Stern MJ, Waterson RH, Liu J*. The C. elegans SoxC protein SEM-2 opposes differentiation factors to promote a proliferative blast cell fate in the postembryonic mesoderm. Development, 2011 Mar, 138(6):1033-43
6. Tian C, Sen D, Shi H, Foehr ML, Plavskin Y, Vatamaniuk OK, Liu J*. The RGM protein DRAG-1 positively regulates a BMP-like signaling pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans. Development, 2010 Jul, 137(14):2375-84
7. Tian C, Liu J*. Repulsive guidance molecules (RGMs) and neogenin in bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling. Mol Reprod Dev, 2013 Sep, 80(9):700-17
Awards
2015 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)-Bristol-Myers-Squibb Oncology Scholar-in-Training Award, AACR
2014 Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Fellowship, Sherry and Alan Leventhal Family Fellow, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
2014 LPS award, Cornell University
2013 Ludwig Postdoctoral Fellowship, Ludwig Foundation
2011 Ta-Chung and Ya-Chao Liu Memorial Award, Cornell University
Served as peer reviewer for the following journals:
Nature Communications
Molecular Cancer
Theranostics
Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry
Journal of Proteome Research
Etc.
