Education

1983.09~1987.07  Bachelor in Medicine, Tianjin Medical University

2000.09~2003.07 Master in Public Health, Tianjin Medical University

2004.09~2007.07   Ph.D in Oncology, Tianjin Medical University

Professional Experiences

1987~1994     Junior Investigator, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, TMUCIH

1994~1999     Assistant Investigator, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, TMUCIH

1999~2004     Associate Investigator, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, TMUCIH

2002~2007     Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, TMUCIH

2003~2006     Deputy Director, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, TMUCIH

2004~present  Investigator, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, TMUCIH

2006~2007      Visiting scholar, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

2007~present  Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, TMUCIH

2007~2014      Director, Tissue Bank Facility, TMUCIH

2007~2017      Director and Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, TMUCIH

2015~present   Vice president, TMUCIH

2018~present   Director, Department of Science and Technology, Tianjin Medical University

Research Focus

With a special interest in cancer prevention, I have been working on cancer epidemiology research and molecular epidemiology research in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital (TMUCIH) for more than 30 years. Since 2003, I served as director of Department of Epidemiology and established the first molecular laboratory for cancer prevention in TMUCIH. With expertise spanning the intersection of molecular biology and data analytics, our lab has built several high-throughput DNA and RNA sequencing platforms and analytical pipelines for genomic and molecular research. Through 16 years of effort and collaboration, our group have identified nearly 100 polymorphisms or mutations in coding and noncoding DNA that play functional roles in cancers of gastric, ovary, and lung. Results from our previous studies could shed light on the tumorigenesis of gastrointestinal and gynecological cancers.

Start from 2007, I have been taking the leading role in national cancer screening program. Under the government support, we have established Tianjin Cancer Registry and screening & prevention center for high-risk populations which covered > 200,000 residents in Tianjin. TMUCIH pioneered prevention of breast cancer and Upper GI cancer with community screening. During 2007-2014, I served as director of cancer biobank, which was partly supported by National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR, USA). TMUCIH cancer biobank is currently the largest standardized cancer biobank in China. By the end of 2018, a total of 56,000 tissues and 88,000 blood samples with patients’ consent have been collected and stored in the cancer biobank. These biological specimens form a unique resource for epidemiological and genomic studies related to environmental exposures, genetic determinants and their interactions in cancer susceptibility and progression.

Selecd Publications

1. Xiangchun Li*†, Sheng Zhang*†, Qiang Zhang*, Xi Wei*, Yi Pan, Jing Zhao, Xiaojie Xin, Chunxin Qin, Xiaoqing Wang, Jianxin Li, Fan Yang,Yanhui Zhao, Meng Yang, Qinghua Wang, Zhiming Zheng, Xiangqian Zheng, Xiangming Yang, Christopher T Whitlow, Metin Nafi Gurcan,Lun Zhang, Xudong Wang, Boris C Pasche, Ming Gao, Wei Zhang†, Kexin Chen†. Diagnosis of thyroid cancer using deep convolutional neural network models applied to sonographic images: a retrospective, multicohort, diagnostic study. Lancet Oncol. 2019 Feb;20(2):193-201. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470204518307629?via%3Dihub

2. .Li X, Pasche B, Zhang W*, Chen K*. Association of MUC16 Mutation With Tumor Mutation Load and Outcomes in Patients With Gastric Cancer. JAMA Oncol. 2018 Dec 1;4(12):1691-1698. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2696338

3. Li XC, Wang MY, Yang M, Dai HJ, Zhang BF, Wang W, Chu XL, Wang X, Zheng H, Niu RF, Zhang W*, Chen KX*. A mutational signature associated with alcoholconsumption and prognostically significantly mutateddriver genes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Ann Oncol. 2018 Apr 1;29(4):938-944. https://academic.oup.com/annonc/article/29/4/938/4812667

4. Yang M, Forbes ME, Bitting RL, O'Neill SS, Chou PC, Topaloglu U, Miller LD, Hawkins GA, Grant SC, DeYoung BR, Petty WJ, Chen K*, Pasche BC1, Zhang W*. Incorporating blood-based liquid biopsy information into cancer staging: time for a TNMB system? Ann Oncol. 2018 Feb 1;29(2):311-323. https://academic.oup.com/annonc/article/29/2/311/4693823

5. Yang D, Sun Y, Hu L, Zheng H, Ji P, Pecot CV, Zhao Y, Reynolds S, Cheng H, Rupaimoole R, Cogdell D, Nykter M, Broaddus R, Rodriguez-Aguayo C, Lopez-Berestein G, Liu J, Shmulevich I, Sood AK, Chen K*, Zhang W. Integrated Analyses Identify a Master MicroRNA Regulatory Network for the Mesenchymal Subtype in Serous Ovarian Cancer. Cancer Cell. 2013 Feb 11;23(2):186-99. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1535-6108(13)00003-2

6. Li L, Liu Y, Guo Y, Liu B, Zhao Y, Li P, Song F, Zheng H, Yu J, Song T, Niu R, Li Q, Wang XW, Zhang W, Chen K*. Regulatory MiR-148a-ACVR1/BMP circuit defines a cancer stem cell-like aggressive subtype of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology.  2015 Feb;61(2):574-84. https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hep.27543

7. Kexin Chen*, Hongxia Ma, Lian Li, Rongyu Zang, Cheng Wang, Fengju Song, Tingyan Shi, Dianke Yu, Ming Yang, Wenqiong Xue, Juncheng Dai, Shuang Li, Hong Zheng, Chen Wu, Ying Zhang, Xiaohua Wu, Dake Li, Fengxia Xue, Haixin Li, Zhi Jiang, Jibin Liu, Yuexin Liu, Pei Li, Wen Tan, Jing Han, Jiang Jie, Quan Hao, Zhibin Hu, Dongxin Lin, Ding Ma*, Weihua Jia*, Hongbing Shen*, Qingyi Wei*. Genome-wide association study identifies new susceptibility loci for epithelial ovarian cancer in Han Chinese women. Nature Communications. 2014 Aug 19;5:4682. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5682. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms5682

8. Fengju Song, Hong Zheng, Ben Liu, Sheng Wei, Hongji Dai, George A. Calin, Xishan Hao, Qingyi Wei, Wei Zhang*, Kexin Chen*. A miR-502-binding Site SNP in the 3’-UTR of the SET8 Gene is Associated with Early Age of Onset of Breast Cancer. Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(19) :6292-6300. https://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/15/19/6292.long

9. Fengju Song, Da Yang  Ben Liu, Yan Guo, Hong Zheng, Lian Li, Tao Wang, Jinpu Yu, Yanrui Zhao, Ruifang Niu, Han Liang, Hans Winkler, Wei Zhang*, Xishan Hao, and Kexin Chen*. Integrated microRNA network analyses identify a poor-prognosis subtype of gastric cancer characterized by the miR-200 family. Clin Cancer Res. 2014 Feb 15;20(4):878-89. https://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/20/4/878.long

10. Chen K, Yang D, Li X, Sun B, Song F, Cao W, Brat DJ, Gao Z, Li H, Liang H, Zhao Y, Zheng H, Li M, Buckner J, Patterson SD, Ye X, Reinhard C, Bhathena A, Joshi D, Mischel PS, Croce CM, Wang YM, Raghavakaimal S, Li H, Lu X, Pan Y, Chang H, Ba S, Luo L, Cavenee WK, Zhang W, Hao X. Mutational landscape of gastric adenocarcinoma in Chinese: Implications for prognosis and therapy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Jan 27;112(4):1107-12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4313862/