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 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. As a corresponding or first author, Dr. Chen has published extensively, including four papers in Nature Cell Biology (2019, 2020, 2022, 2025), two in Cell Death & Differentiation (2014, 2018), and additional articles in Protein & Cell, Cell Death & Disease, Methods in Molecular Biology, Journal of Hazardous Materials, and other leading journals and books. In total, she has authored 20 SCI-indexed papers.
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. Member of the Editorial Board, Experimental and Molecular Pathology
2. Member of the Editorial Board, Oral Science and Homeostatic Medicine
3. Member of the 13th Committee of the Anti-Inflammatory and Immunopharmacology Specialty Committee, Chinese Pharmacological Society
4. 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.*(Corresponding author) Phosphoinositide signalling in cell motility and adhesion. Nature Cell Biology (2025).
2. 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).
3. Thapa, N.#, Chen, M.#(co-first author), Horn, H.T., Choi, S., Wen, T. & Anderson, R.A. Phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase signalling is spatially organized at endosomal compartments by microtubule-associated protein 4. Nature Cell Biology 22, 1357-1370 (2020).
4. Choi, S.#, Chen, M.#(co-first author), Cryns, V.L. & Anderson, R.A. A nuclear phosphoinositide kinase complex regulates p53. Nature Cell Biology 21, 462-475 (2019).
5. 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).
6. 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).
7. 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.*(Corresponding author) The Nuclear Phosphoinositide-p53 Signalosome in the Regulation of Cell Motility. Protein & Cell (2025).
8. Hou, X.#, Chen, Y.#, Carrillo, N.D., Cryns, V.L., Anderson, R.A., Sun, J., Wang, S.* & Chen, M.*(通訊作者) Phosphoinositide signaling at the cytoskeleton in the regulation of cell dynamics. Cell Death & Disease 16, 296 (2025).
9. Ren, C., Carrillo, N.D., Cryns, V.L., Anderson, R.A. & Chen, M. *(Corresponding author) Environmental pollutants and phosphoinositide signaling in autoimmunity. Journal of Hazardous Materials 465, 133080 (2024).
10. 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).
11. 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).
12. Thapa, N., Chen, M., Cryns, V.L. & Anderson, R. A p85 isoform switch enhances PI3K activation on endosomes by a MAP4- and PI3P-dependent mechanism. Cell Reports 43, 114119 (2024).