Faculty
SELF-INTRODUCTION：
HONG XIN, Tenure-track Assistant Professor & Doctoral Supervisor, SUSTech School of Medicine. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a PhD degree in 2013. From 2014 to 2020, he conducted his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School/Howard Hughes Medical Medical Institute (HHMI), focusing on the biology and clinical application of circulating tumor cells (CTC liquid biopsy). He has published >20 original research articles in influential international journals such as Cell, Cancer Discovery, PNAS, EMBO Journal, Genes & Development that are cited more than 1400 times (H-index = 19, google scholar). He has won several international academic awards such as the A*STAR JCO early career development award (Singapore, 2013), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) scholar-in-training award (USA, 2020) and others. Since August-2020 his research team has been awarded more than 10 national and provincial-level grants such as NSFC grant for International Excellent Young Scientists, NSFC grant for general program, Provincial-level Innovation Program, Key Program and so on. In addition, Prof Hong served as the associate/guest editor or editorial board members for multiple influential SCI journals, such as Theranostics, BMC cancer and Frontiers In Oncology.
EDUCATION:
April 30th, 2013 Ph.D in Biomedical Sciences
National University of Singapore
June 30th, 2006 Bachelor of Science (Life Sciences, Hons)
National University of Singapore
WOKRING EXPERIENCE:
08/2020 – present Tenure-track Assistant Professor，School of Medicine
Southern University of Science and Technology（SUStech）
07/2014 - 05/2020 HHMI postdoctoral fellow
MGH Cancer Center
Harvard Medical School
04/2013 – 06/2014 Briging postdoctoral fellow
A*STAR
National University of Singapore
HONORS AND AWARDS:
2020 AACR Scholar-In-Training Award, USA
2013 JCO Career Development Award, A*STAR,Singapore
2007-2010 Junior Research Fellowship
Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory
2006 LiJen Industrial Development Medal
(Best academic performance of the class)
National University of Singapore
2002-2006 Undergraduate Scholarship
Ministry of Education, Singapore
Research interests:
My research area is primarily focused on the biology and clinical applications of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC):
Establish patient-derived CTC mouse explant model systems (CDX) to investigate molecular mechanisms of blood-borne metastatic process in vivo.
Apply interdisciplinary approaches involving next generation CTC microfluidic isolation systems, single cell genomics and cancer genetic models to characterize the evolutionary transitions from primary tumor to metastatic spreading by patient CTCs.
Develop CTC-based tumor biomarkers for the non-invasive early detection of cancer, real-time monitoring of therapeutic response and prediction of long-term clinical outcome in patients.
Screen for novel therapeutic agents against CTC-mediated cancer metastasis.
Academic membership：
2013-present，Associate member，American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
PUBLICATIONS：
* first/co-first authors; # corresponding/co-corresponding authors
1. Xu K*, Liu X*, Zeng Q*, Liu Y, Shan L, Ji L, Wu Y, Wu J, Chen Y, Li Y, Huang S, Jiang C, Hong X#, Wu C#, Wang Z#. Cannabinoid CB2 receptor controls chronic itch by regulating spinal microglial activation and synaptic transmission. Cell Rep. 2025 Apr 11;44(4):115559. (*Equal contributions; #co-corresponding authors)
2. Zhen Zhan, Yuting Wang, Hanhan Xie, Ming Yang, Muyang Ruan, Xuefei Liu, Jialing Liu, Zeyang Liu, Feiqiu Wen, Xin Hong#, Chengzhi Hu#. Hierarchically Porous Microgels with Interior Spiral Canals for High-Efficiency Delivery of Stem Cells in Wound Healing. Small. 2024 Dec 19:e2405648. (*Equal contributions; #co-corresponding authors)
3. Yufan Yang*, Guanyin Huang*, Jingru Lian*, Chunhao Long, Boxi Zhao, Xuefei Liu, Binyu Zhang, Weijian Ye, Junhao Chen, Longxiang Du, Zhuofeng Jiang, Jialing Liu, Jianglin Zhang, Chengzhi Hu#, Qingfeng Chen#, Xin Hong#. Circulating tumour cell clusters: isolation, biological significance and therapeutic implications. BMJ Oncology. 2024;3:e000437. (*Equal contributions; #co-corresponding authors)
4. Hemi Luan*, Shuailong Chen*, Jingru Lian*, Boxi Zhao, Xiaolong Xu, Yafei Chen, Yufang Yang, Zhuofeng Jiang, Min Qi, Jialing Liu, Wenyong Zhang, Tiangang Luan, Xin Hong#. Biofluorescence imaging-guided spatial metabolic tracing: In vivo tracking of metabolic activity in circulating tumor cell-mediated multi-organ metastases. Talanta. 2024 Aug 10;280:126696. (*Equal contributions; #co-corresponding authors)
5. Ye L*, Jiang Z*, Zheng M, Pan K, Lian J, Ju B, Liu X, Tang S, Guo G, Zhang S, Hong X#, Lu W#. Fatty acid metabolism-related lncRNA prognostic signature for serous ovarian carcinoma. Epigenomics. 2024 Feb 15. （#co-corresponding authors）
6. Jiang Z*, He J*, Zhang B*, Wang L, Long C, Zhao B, Yang Y, Du L, Luo W#, Hu J#, Hong X#. A Potential "Anti-Warburg Effect" in Circulating Tumor Cell-mediated Metastatic Progression? Aging Dis. 2024 Jan 11. （*Equal contributions;#co-corresponding authors）
7. Fox DB*, Ebright RY*, Hong X*, Russell HC, Guo H, LaSalle TJ, Wittner BS, Poux N, Vuille JA, Toner M, Hacohen N, Boland GM, Sen DR, Sullivan RJ, Maheswaran S#, Haber DA#. Downregulation of KEAP1 in melanoma promotes resistance to immune checkpoint blockade. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2023 Mar 2;7(1):25.（*Equal contributions;#co-corresponding authors）
8. Hong X*, Roh W*, Sullivan R J, Wong K H K, Wittner B S, Guo H, Dubash T D, Sade-Feldman M, Wesley B, Horwitz E, Boland G M, Marvin D L, Bonesteel T, Lu C, Aguet F, Burr R, Freeman S S, Parida L, Calhoun K, Jewett M K, Nieman L T, Hacohen N, Naar A M, Ting D T, Toner M, Stott S L, Getz G, Maheswaran S, Haber D A. The Lipogenic Regulator SREBP2 Induces Transferrin in Circulating Melanoma Cells and Suppresses Ferroptosis. Cancer Discovery, 2021 Mar;11(3):678-695.（*Equal contributions）
9. Hong X*, Sullivan RJ*, Kalinich M, Kwan TT, Giobbie-Hurder A, Pan S, LiCausi JA, Milner JD, Nieman LT, Wittner BS, Ho U, Chen T, Kapur R, Lawrence DP, Flaherty KT, Sequist LV, Ramaswamy S, Miyamoto DT, Lawrence M, Toner M, Isselbacher KJ, Maheswaran S**, Haber DA**. Molecular signatures of circulating melanoma cells for monitoring early response to immune checkpoint therapy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Mar 6;115(10):2467-2472. (*Equal contributions; **co-corresponding authors)
10. Hong X*, Nguyen HT*, Chen Q, Zhang R, Hagman Z, Voorhoeve PM, Cohen SM. Opposing activities of the Ras and Hippo pathways converge on regulation of YAP protein turnover. EMBO J. 2014 Nov 3;33(21):2447-57. (*Equal contributions)
11. Nguyen HT*, Hong X*, Tan S, Chen Q, Chan L, Fivaz M, Cohen SM, Voorhoeve PM. Viral small T oncoproteins transform cells by alleviating hippo-pathway-mediated inhibition of the YAP proto-oncogene. Cell Rep. 2014 Aug 7;8(3):707-13. (*Equal contributions)
12. Herranz H*, Hong X*, Hung NT, Voorhoeve PM, Cohen SM. Oncogenic cooperation between SOCS family proteins and EGFR identified using a Drosophila epithelial transformation model. Genes Dev. 2012 Jul 15;26(14):1602-11. (* Equal contributions)
13. Hong X*, Hammell M*, Ambros V, Cohen SM. Immunopurification of Ago1 miRNPs selects for a distinct class of microRNA targets. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Sep 1;106(35):15085-90. (*Equal contributions)
14. Liu J, Lian J, Chen Y, Zhao X, Du C, Xu Y, Hu H, Rao H, Hong X#. Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs): A Unique Model of Cancer Metastases and Non-invasive Biomarkers of Therapeutic Response. Frontiers in Genetics, 2021 Aug 25;12:734595.（#corresponding authors）
15. Hu J, He P, Zhao F, Lin W, Xue C, Chen J, Yu Z, Ran Y, Meng Y, Hong X, Shum PP, Shao L. Magnetic microspheres enhanced peanut structure cascaded lasso shaped fiber laser biosensor for cancer marker-CEACAM5 detection in serum. Talanta. 2024 Jan 5;271:125625.
16. Yuan S*, Xi S*, Weng H*, Guo MM, Zhang JH, Yu ZP, Zhang H, Yu Z, Xing Z, Liu MY, Ming DJ, Sah RK, Zhou Y, Li G, Zeng T, Hong X, Li Y, Zeng XT, Hu H. YTHDC1 as a tumor progression suppressor through modulating FSP1-dependent ferroptosis suppression in lung cancer. Cell Death Differ. 2023 Dec;30(12):2477-2490.（*Equal contributions）
17. Guo H S*, Golczer G*, Wittner B, Langenbucher A, Zachariah M, Dubash T D, Hong X, Comaills V, Burr R, Ebright R Y, Horwitz E, Vuille J A, Hajizadeh S, Wiley D F, Reeves B A, Zhang J M, Niederhoffer K L, Lu C Y, Wesley B, Ho U, Nieman L T, Toner M, Vasudevan S, Zou L, Mostoslavsky R, Maheswaran S**, Lawrence M S**, Harber D A**. NR4A1 regulates expression of immediate early genes, suppressing replication stress in cancer. Molecular Cell, 2021 Oct 7;81(19):4041-4058.e15.（*Equal contributions;**co-corresponding authors）
18. Xu H*, Li S*, Sun Y*, Xu L, Hong X, Wang Z, Hu H. ELOVL5-Mediated Long Chain Fatty Acid Elongation Contributes to Enzalutamide Resistance of Prostate Cancer. Cancers, 2021 Aug 5;13(16):3957. （*Equal contributions）
19. Che J, Hong X, Rao H. PCNA Ubiquitylation: Instructive or Permissive to DNA Damage Tolerance Pathways?. Biomolecules, 2021 Oct 19;11(10):1543.
20. Edd JF, Mishra A, Dubash TD, Herrera S, Mohammad R, Williams EK, Hong X, Mutlu BR, Walsh JR, Machado de Carvalho F, Aldikacti B, Nieman LT, Stott SL, Kapur R, Maheswaran S, Haber DA, Toner M. Microfluidic concentration and separation of circulating tumor cell clusters from large blood volumes. Lab Chip. 2020 Feb 7;20(3):558-567.
21. Aya-Bonilla CA, Morici M, Hong X, McEvoy AC, Sullivan RJ, Freeman J, Calapre L, Khattak MA, Meniawy T, Millward M, Ziman M, Gray ES. Detection and prognostic role of heterogeneous populations of melanoma circulating tumour cells. Br J Cancer. 2020 Mar;122(7):1059-1067.
22. Yan C*, Brunson DC*, Tang Q*, Do D*, Iftimia NA, Moore JC, Hayes MN, Welker AM, Garcia EG, Dubash TD, Hong X, Drapkin BJ, Myers DT, Phat S, Volorio A, Marvin DL, Ligorio M, Dershowitz L, McCarthy KM, Karabacak MN, Fletcher JA, Sgroi DC, Iafrate JA, Maheswaran S, Dyson NJ, Haber DA, Rawls JF, Langenau DM. Visualizing Engrafted Human Cancer and Therapy Responses in Immunodeficient Zebrafish. Cell. 2019 Jun 13;177(7):1903-1914.e14. (*Equal contributions).
23. Miyamoto DT*, Lee RJ*, Kalinich M, LiCausi JA, Zheng Y, Chen T, Milner JD, Emmons E, Ho U, Broderick K, Silva E, Javaid S, Kwan TT, Hong X, Dahl DM, McGovern FJ, Efstathiou JA, Smith MR, Sequist LV, Kapur R, Wu CL, Stott SL, Ting DT, Giobbie-Hurder A, Toner M, Maheswaran S**, Haber DA**. An RNA-Based Digital Circulating Tumor Cell Signature Is Predictive of Drug Response and Early Dissemination in Prostate Cancer. Cancer Discov. 2018 Mar;8(3):288-303. (*Equal contributions; ** co-corresponding authors).
24. Kalinich M*, Bhan I*, Kwan TT, Miyamoto DT, Javaid S, LiCausi JA, Milner JD, Hong X, Goyal L, Sil S, Choz M, Ho U, Kapur R, Muzikansky A, Zhang H, Weitz DA, Sequist LV, Ryan DP, Chung RT, Zhu AX, Isselbacher KJ, Ting DT, Toner M, Maheswaran S**, Haber DA**. An RNA-based signature enables high specificity detection of circulating tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinoma. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jan 31;114(5):1123-1128. (*Equal contributions; ** co-corresponding authors).
25. Thanh Nguyen H, Andrejeva D, Gupta R, Choudhary C, Hong X, Eichhorn PJ, Loya AC, Cohen SM. Deubiquitylating enzyme USP9x regulates hippo pathway activity by controlling angiomotin protein turnover. Cell Discov. 2016 Mar 29;2:16001. doi: 10.1038/celldisc.2016.1.
26. Ge W, Deng Q, Guo T, Hong X, Kugler JM, Yang X, Cohen SM. Regulation of pattern formation and gene amplification during Drosophila oogenesis by the miR-318 microRNA. Genetics. 2015 May;200(1):255-65.
27. Herranz H, Hong X, Cohen SM. Mutual repression by bantam miRNA and Capicua links the EGFR/MAPK and Hippo pathways in growth control. Curr Biol. 2012 Apr 24;22(8):651-7.
28. Becam I*, Rafel N*, Hong X, Cohen SM, Milán M. Notch-mediated repression of bantam miRNA contributes to boundary formation in the Drosophila wing. Development. 2011 Sep;138(17):3781-9. (*Equal contributions).
29. Herranz H, Hong X, Pérez L, Ferreira A, Olivieri D, Cohen SM, Milán M. The miRNA machinery targets Mei-P26 and regulates Myc protein levels in the Drosophila wing. EMBO J. 2010 May 19;29(10):1688-98.
30. Tang ZZ, Liao P, Li G, Jiang FL, Yu D, Hong X, Yong TF, Tan G, Lu S, Wang J, Soong TW. Differential splicing patterns of L-type calcium channel Cav1.2 subunit in hearts of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats and Wistar Kyoto Rats. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2008 Jan;1783(1):118-30.
31. Tang ZZ, Hong X, Wang J, Soong TW. Signature combinatorial splicing profiles of rat cardiac- and smooth-muscle Cav1.2 channels with distinct biophysical properties. Cell Calcium. 2007 May;41(5):417-28.