Faculty
SELF-INTRODUCTION：
Dr. Mo Chen is an Associate Professor and Principal Investigator in the Department of Pharmacology at the School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology. She also serves as Assistant Dean of the SUSTech Homeostatic Medicine Institute (SHMI) and is a PhD advisor. Dr. Chen is a recipient of the National High-Level Young Talent Program and a Distinguished Peacock Scholar in Shenzhen. She earned her PhD from the National University of Singapore in 2013, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the same institution from 2014 to 2017. From 2017 to 2023, she worked as a postdoctoral research associate and scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA. Dr. Chen’s research focuses on cell biology, lipid biology, and the molecular mechanisms of phosphoinositide signaling pathways, as well as carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and their roles in disease mechanisms. She has led several high-profile research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, the SMART Shenzhen Medical Research Fund, and the Shenzhen Basic Research Program. Representative achievements have been published as corresponding or first author (including co-first) in internationally renowned journals and book series, including Nature Cell Biology (four papers: 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025), Trends in Cell Biology, Cell Death & Differentiation (two papers: 2014, 2018), Protein & Cell, Cell Death & Disease, BBA – Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids, Oral Science and Homeostatic Medicine, Journal of Hazardous Materials, and Methods in Molecular Biology, with a total of 30 publications.
EDUCATION:
2009-08 to 2013-12, National University of Singapore, Biology, Doctor of Philosophy
2005-09 to 2009-06, Sichuan University, Biotechnology, Bachelor of Science
WOKRING EXPERIENCE:
2024-01 to present, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, China
2023-04 to 2023-12, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, China
2022-07 to 2023-03, Senior Scientist, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, US
2019-09 to 2022-07, Associate Scientist, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, US
2017-07 to 2019-09, Research Associate, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, US
2014-01 to 2017-06, Research Fellow, National University of Singapore, Singapore
HONORS AND AWARDS:
2015 Excellent young investigator award from the Singapore Cardiac Society, Singapore
2009-2013 Award of full research scholarship to PhD program from National University of Singapore, Singapore
2009 Outstanding University Graduates of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, China
2007 National Scholarship, China
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS:
1. Editorial Board Member, Oral Science and Homeostatic Medicine
2. Editorial Board Member, Experimental and Molecular Pathology
3. Youth Editorial Board Member, Journal of Translational Internal Medicine
4. Member of the 13th Committee of the Anti-Inflammatory and Immunopharmacology Specialty Committee, Chinese Pharmacological Society
5. Member of the Neuropharmacology Specialty Committee, Guangdong Pharmacological Society
RESEARCH:
This research group employs a range of techniques, including biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, and mass spectrometry, to investigate the regulation of phosphoinositide signaling, material transport, carbohydrate and lipid-protein complex formation, and their biological functions. We aim to elucidate the localization and mechanisms of lipids in non-membrane structures within organelles. Additionally, our research focuses on the role of dysregulated carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in diseases, with the goal of developing novel therapeutics targeting these mechanisms.
PUBLICATIONS：
1. Hou, X., Ren, C., Jin, J., Chen, Y., Lyu, X., Bi, K., Carrillo, N.D., Cryns, V.L., Anderson, R.A., Sun, J.* & Chen, M.* Phosphoinositide signalling in cell motility and adhesion. Nature Cell Biology 27, 736-748 (2025).
2. Sun, J.* & Chen, M.* Navigating AKT-ivity across cellular compartments. Trends in Cell Biology (2025).
3. Zhou, B.#, Feng, Y.#, Liang, J., Lu, Z., Zhang, S., Wang, X., Zhang, R., Shuai, S., Wang, S.* & Chen, M.* Pip5k1a regulates mandibular homeostasis by orchestrating osteogenesis in mice. Oral Science and Homeostatic Medicine (2025).
4. Hou, X.#, Chen, Y.#, Zhou, B.#, Liu, F., Dai, L., Chen, C., Carrillo, N.D., Cryns, V.L., Anderson, R.A., Sun, J.* & Chen, M.* The nuclear phosphoinositide-p53 signalosome in the regulation of cell motility. Protein & Cell (2025).
5. Hou, X.#, Chen, Y.#, Carrillo, N.D., Cryns, V.L., Anderson, R.A., Sun, J., Wang, S.* & Chen, M.* Phosphoinositide signaling at the cytoskeleton in the regulation of cell dynamics. Cell Death & Disease 16, 296 (2025).
6. Chen, M.*, Tan, J.X., Sun, Y., Thapa, N., Cryns, V.L. & Anderson, R.A.* Agonist- and stress-driven compartmentalized phosphoinositide signaling in cells. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids 1870, 159662 (2025).
7. Ren, C.#, Liu, F.#, Li, X., Zhang, Y., Liu, X., Wang, J.*, Sun, J.* & Chen, M.* Decoding phosphoinositide signaling in viral pathogenesis and autoimmune disorders. Microbes & Immunity, in press (2025).
8. Ren, C., Carrillo, N.D., Cryns, V.L., Anderson, R.A. & Chen, M.* Environmental pollutants and phosphoinositide signaling in autoimmunity. Journal of Hazardous Materials 465, 133080 (2024).
9. Chen, M., Choi, S., Wen, T., Chen, C., Thapa, N., Lee, J.H., Cryns, V.L.* & Anderson, R.A.* A p53-phosphoinositide signalosome regulates nuclear AKT activation. Nature Cell Biology 24, 1099-1113 (2022).
10. Thapa, N.#, Chen, M.#, Horn, H.T., Choi, S., Wen, T. & Anderson, R.A.* Phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase signalling is spatially organized at endosomal compartments by microtubule-associated protein 4. Nature Cell Biology 22, 1357-1370 (2020).
11. Choi, S.#, Chen, M.#, Cryns, V.L. & Anderson, R.A.* A nuclear phosphoinositide kinase complex regulates p53. Nature Cell Biology 21, 462-475 (2019).
12. Chen, M., Qiu, T., Wu, J., Yang, Y., Wright, G.D., Wu, M. & Ge, R.* Extracellular anti-angiogenic proteins augment an endosomal protein trafficking pathway to reach mitochondria and execute apoptosis in HUVECs. Cell Death & Differentiation 25, 1905-1920 (2018).
13. Chen, M., Zhang, Y., Yu, V.C., Chong, Y.S., Yoshioka, T. & Ge, R.* Isthmin targets cell-surface GRP78 and triggers apoptosis via induction of mitochondrial dysfunction. Cell Death & Differentiation 21, 797-810 (2014).
14. Chen, M., Wen, T., Horn, H.T., Chandrahas, V.K., Thapa, N., Choi, S., Cryns, V.L. & Anderson, R.A.* The nuclear phosphoinositide response to stress. Cell Cycle 19, 268-289 (2020).
15. Chen, M., Horn, H.T., Wen, T., Cryns, V.L. & Anderson, R.A.* Assessing in situ phosphoinositide-protein interactions through fluorescence proximity ligation assay in cultured cells. Methods in Molecular Biology 2251, 133-142 (2021).
16. Thapa, N., Chen, M., Cryns, V.L.* & Anderson, R.A.* A p85 isoform switch enhances PI3K activation on endosomes by a MAP4- and PI3P-dependent mechanism. Cell Reports 43, 114119 (2024).
17. Lee, J.H., Chen, M., Wen, T., Anderson, R.A.* & Cryns, V.L.* Regulation of the MDM2-p53 nexus by a nuclear phosphoinositide and small heat shock protein complex. Journal of Biological Chemistry 301, 110527 (2025).
18. Wen, T., Chen, M., Cryns, V.L.* & Anderson, R.A.* The poly(A) polymerase Star-PAP is regulated by stably associated phosphoinositide messengers. Journal of Biological Chemistry 301, 110412 (2025).
19. Chen, C., Carrillo, N.D., Chen, M., Wen, T., Awasthi, P., Anderson, R.A.* & Cryns, V.L.* Regulation of NRF2 by stably associated phosphoinositides and small heat shock proteins in response to stress. Journal of Biological Chemistry 301, 110367 (2025).
20. Zhang, D., Li, S., Wang, Y., Zhang, Z., Xu, H., Wu, S., Jin, H., Han, X., Liu, Y., Wen, X., Wu, Y., Zhang, Z., Hu, L., Hu, L., Zhang, C., Wang, J., Yan, R., Chen, M., Xiao, G., Sun, G. & Wang, S.* Sodium nitrate protects against metabolic syndrome by sialin-mediated macrophage rebalance. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, in press (2025).
(# co-first author; * corresponding author)