Biography:

Dr. CHEN received his B.S. in Biological Science from Zhejiang University in 2009, followed by a Ph.D. in Oncology with Prof Shu ZHENG from the same institution in 2015. During his doctoral studies, he completed a research fellowship at the Houston Methodist Research Institute in the USA between 2011 and 2013. In 2014, he joined the Department of Medicine & Therapeutics at CUHK as a Research Assistant and became a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2015 under Prof Jun YU. He currently holds the position of Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, focusing on studying gastrointestinal (GI) cancer and sepsis. His research encompasses basic and translational research, with his most recent study shedding light on the abnormal epitranscriptomic changes that contribute to the development of GI cancer, providing a deeper understanding of their molecular mechanisms and potential clinical implications. He has published 62 articles in peer-reviewed journals, with a cumulative impact factor (IF) of 777. As a Principal Investigator (PI), he has secured six external grants over the past three years, including 2 NSFCs, 2 RGC-GRFs, and 2 HMRFs. Dr. CHEN has received numerous accolades, including recognition as an Emerging Leader in the field of Oncology and the Top Reviewers Award by the Oncogene journal in 2023. He was also awarded the Poster of Distinction Award at DDW in 2021, the Young Investigator Award by the Hong Kong Society for Immunology in 2020, and the Basic Science Travel Grant at UEGW in 2016.

Specialised Research Area(s):

• RNA modifications
• GI cancer
• Sepsis
  

1. Chen H, Pan Y, Zhou Q, Liang C, Wong CC, Zhou Y, Huang D, Liu W, Zhai J, Gou H, Su H, Zhang X, Xu H, Wang Y, Kang W, Wu WKK, Yu J. METTL3 inhibits anti-tumor immunity by targeting m6A-BHLHE41-CXCL1/CXCR2 axis to promote colorectal cancer. Gastroenterology. 2022 Oct;163(4):891-907. (ESI highly cited paper)

2. Chen H, Gao S, Liu W, Wong CC, Wu J, Wu J, Liu D, Gou H, Kang W, Zhai J, Li C, Su H, Wang S, Soares F, Han J, He HH, Yu J. RNA N6-Methyladenosine Methyltransferase METTL3 Facilitates Colorectal Cancer by Activating the m6A-GLUT1-mTORC1 Axis and Is a Therapeutic Target. Gastroenterology. 2021 Mar;160(4):1284-1300. (ESI highly cited paper)

3. Wang Y#, Chen H#, Liu W, Yan H, Zhang Y, Cheung AHK, Zhang J, Chen B, Liang L, Zhou Z, Wong CC, Wu WKK, Chan MWY, Cheng ASL, Ma BBY, Yu J, Lo KW, To KF, Kang W. MCM6 is a critical transcriptional target of YAP to promote gastric tumorigenesis and serves as a therapeutic target. Theranostics. 2022 Sep 6;12(15):6509-6526.

4. Huang D, Wang X, Huang Z, Liu Y, Liu X, Gin T, Wong SH, Yu J, Zhang L, Chan MTV*, Chen H*, Wu WKK*. 3' Untranslated Regions of Tumor Suppressor Genes Evolved Specific Features to Favor Cancer Resistance. Oncogene. 2022 Jun;41(23):3278-3288.

5. Chen H#, Liu W#, Wang Y, Liu D, Zhao L, Yu J. SARS-CoV-2 activates lung epithelial cell proinflammatory signaling and leads to immune dysregulation in COVID-19 patients. EBioMedicine. 2021 Aug;70:103500

6. Chen H, Wong CC, Liu D, Go MYY, Wu B, Peng S, Kuang M, Wong N, Yu J. APLN promotes hepatocellular carcinoma through activating PI3K/Akt pathway and is a druggable target. Theranostics. 2019 Jul 9; 9(18):5246-5260.

7. Tang J#, Chen H#, Wong CC, Liu D, Li T, Wang X, Ji J, Sung JJ, Fang JY, Yu J. DEAD-box helicase 27 promotes colorectal cancer growth and metastasis and predicts poor survival in CRC patients. Oncogene. 2018 May;37(22):3006-3021.

8. Chen H, Cai W, Chu ES, Tang J, Wong CC, Wong SH, Sun W, Liang Q, Fang J, Sun Z, Yu J. Hepatic cyclooxygenase-2 overexpression induced spontaneous hepatocellular carcinoma formation in mice. Oncogene. 2017 Aug;36(31):4415-4426. 

9. Su H, Cheung H, Lau HC, Chen H, Zhang X, Qin N, Wang Y, Chan MTV, Wu WKK, Chen H*. Crosstalk between gut microbiota and RNA N6-methyladenosine modification in cancer. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2023 Jul 5;47(4):fuad036.

10. Chen H, Zhang X, Su H, Zeng J, Chan H, Li Q, Liu X, Zhang L, Wu WKK, Chan MTV*, Chen H*. Immune dysregulation and RNA N6-methyladenosine modification in sepsis. Wiley Interdiscip Rev RNA. 2023 May-Jun;14(3):e1764.