Research Interests

• Cancer cells are groups of cells that can divide relentlessly. Those cells are originated from normal tissue. Those cells transformed to cancer cells during the process of mutation accumulation, followed by specific transcription reprogramming, that drive cells gain the property of uncontrolled proliferation. My lab is interested in studying how genetic mutations and non-genetic reprogramming coordinate in driving cancer cell initiation and progressionfrom their normal tissue site, with specific interests in the cancers that are originated from the skin and mucosal (cutaneous/mucosal melanoma, and squamous cell carcinoma, etc. ). Meanwhile, we are also interested in understanding how genetic mutations regulate cell identity and cell plasticity, and, and how cancer cell plasticity drives cancer metastasis and drug resistance. To pursue those directions, we have established the following tools: 1) CRISPR/Cas based engineering of primary normal human cells with mutations. 2) transgenic mice. 3) Xenografts (PDX), Patient-Derived Cell (PDC), and Patient-Derived organoid (PDO). 4) -Omics: whole exon seq/targeted exon seq, single-cell mRNA seq. 5) single-cell live imaging, etc.

• To Summarize, our lab has developed the following research directions:

• 1. To dissect the genetic and non-genetic evolution cancers from precursors, aiming for biomarker discovery for early cancer diagnosis

• 2. To study how cancer cell plasticity is involved in cancer metastasis and drug resistance

• 3. To establish “Bench-to-bedside” research-based fast clinical trials platform

• 4. Target discovery in acral and mucosal melanoma, the two major melanoma subtypes in China

Education and Work Experience

• 2005-2010 BSc in bioengineering, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China

• 2010-2015 Ph.D. in Cancer Pharmacology, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

• 2015-2019 Postdoctoral Fellow, Judson/Bastain Laboratory for melanoma research, Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

• 2019-2020 Postdoctoral Fellow, Judson-Torres Laboratory for melanoma research, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, UT, USA

• 2020- present Principal Investigator, Shanghai Institute of Precision Medicine, Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

Selected Publications

1. Ma Y, Xia R, Ma X, Judson-Torres RL, Zeng H#. Mucosal Melanoma: Pathological Evolution, Pathway Dependency and Targeted Therapy. Front Oncol. 2021, 11: 702287.

2. McNeal AS, Belote RL, Zeng H, Urquijo M, Barker K, Torres R, Curtin M, Shain AH, Andtbacka RH, Holmen S, Lum DH, McCalmont TH, VanBrocklin MW, Grossman D, Wei ML, Lang UE, Judson-Torres RL#. MicroRNAs Restrain Proliferation in BRAFV600E Melanocytic Nevi. Elife, 2021. 10:e70385.

3. Tang J*, Fewings E*, Chang D, Zeng H, Liu S, Jorapur A, Belote RL, McNeal AS, Tan TM, Yeh I, Arron ST, Judson-Torres RL#, Bastian BC#, Shain AH#. The genomic landscapes of individual melanocytes from human skin. Nature, 2020, 586(7830): 600-605.

4. Zeng H, Judson-Torres RL, Shain AH#. The revolution of melanoma - moving beyond the binary models of genetic progression. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2020, 140(2):291-297.

5. Jin N*, Bi A*, Lan X, Xu J, Wang X, Liu Y, Wang T, Tang S, Zeng H, Chen Z, Tan M, Ai J, Xie H, Zhang T, Liu D, Huang R, Song Y, Leung EL, Yao X, Ding J, Geng M#, Lin SH#, Huang M#. Identification of metabolic vulnerabilities of receptor tyrosine kinases-driven cancer. Nature Communications, 2019, s41467-019-10427-2.

6. Zeng H, Jorapur A, Shain AH, Lang UE, Torres R, Zhang Y, McNeal AS, Botton T, Lin J, Donne M, Bastian IN, Yu R, North JP, Pincus L, Ruben BS, Joseph NM, Yeh I, Bastian BC, Judson RL#. Bi-allelic loss of CDKN2A initiates melanoma invasion via BRN2 activation. Cancer Cell, 2018 , 34 (1), 56-68. Highlights of the issue in Cancer Cell.

7. Zeng H*, Qu J*, Jin N*, Xu J, Lin C, Chen Y, Yang X, He X, Tang S, Lan X, Yang X, Chen Z, Huang M#, Ding J#, Geng M#. Feedback Activation of Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Receptor Limits Response to Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors in Breast Cancer. Cancer Cell, 2016, 30 (3), 459- 473.

8. Lin C*, Zeng H*, Lu J, Xie Z, Sun W, Luo C, Ding J, Yuan S, Geng M#, Huang M#. DNA damage-induced acetylation of SOD1 sensitizes cancer cells to DNA damaging agents. Oncotarget, 2015, 6(24): 20578-20591.

9. Lu J*, Zeng H*, Liang Z*, Chen L, Zhang L, Zhang H, Liu H, Jiang H, Shen B, Huang M, Geng M#, Spiegel S#, Luo C#. Network modelling reveals the mechanism underlying colitis-associated colon cancer and identifies novel combinatorial anti-cancer targets. Scientific Reports, 2015, 5: 14739.

10. * Equal Contribution , # Corresponding author.