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An NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research
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Da Yang's lab studies cancer pharmacogenomics by integrating bioinformatics and experimental tools. We are specifically focused on identifying novel disease-driving none-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), modeling ncRNA down-stream regulatory network, and characterizing ncRNAs’ function in cancer therapy using in vivo and in vitro cancer models. Our integrative strategy has led to the discovery of novel RNA genes that serve as master regulators of drug resistance in ovarian and breast cancers by regulating EMT (Cancer Cell, 2013) and DNA repair pathway (JNCI, 2015; JAMA, 2011; Theranostics, 2020a). We have successfully built and identified key RNA-targets regulatory network for cancer metastasis and drug resistance (Clin Cancer Res, 2014 and PNAS, 2015; Theranostics, 2020b). Recently, we performed an integrated analysis of the lncRNA-drug interaction landscape and cloned a novel intergenic lncRNA gene that promotes breast cancer tumorigenesis through inhibiting tumor immune response (Cancer Cell, 2018; Nat Commun, 2018; Science Advances, 2020; Science Advances, 2022).
Dr. Yip's primary research interest is evaluating the role of molecular markers in thyroid and parathyroid cancer to improve risk stratification and optimize efficacy in patient management algorithms.
Dr. Yuan is a cancer epidemiologist with extensive experience in research on cancer etiology and prevention. Dr. Yuan’s research lab has been continuously funded by National Cancer Institute for more than two decades. Currently, Dr. Yuan’s research focuses on the impact of obesity on risk of cancer. Dr. Yuan also is leading a team of scientists to evaluate the effectiveness of sulforaphane derived from broccoli on reduction of risk markers for lung cancer in high-risk individuals. As Principal Investigator of both the Shanghai Cohort Study and the Singapore Chinese Health Study, two population-based prospective cohorts of more than 80,000 adults with available baseline blood and urine samples with more than 25 years of active follow-up for cancer and other major health outcomes, Dr. Yuan continues to utilize these large cohort resources to discover and validate novel biomarkers for risk of cancer development. These two cohorts have made several noteworthy contributions to the field of cancer epidemiology including (1) dietary aflatoxins as human hepatocarcinogens, (2) significant roles of immune biomarkers and secondary bile acids for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, (3) dietary isothiocyanates, a group of phytochemicals found in cruciferous vegetables, as potential chemopreventive agents against lung cancer development, and (4) urinary biomarkers of tobacco-specific nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as specific lung carcinogens in smokers.
