Wei Hsu, Ph.D.

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Genetic Regulatory Circuits in Development and Disease

1. Craniofacial Morphogenesis

• The primary objective is to investigate the fundamental mechanisms underlying craniofacial morphogenesis, including development of cranial neural crest, cell fate determination and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, skeletogenesis and craniosynostosis.

2. Breast Development and Cancer

• The main focus is to investigate the Wnt-Axin regulatory network in normal development and neoplastic transformation of the mammary gland. We are particularly interested in roles of the newly identified mammary stem cells and parity-induced mammary progenitors in tumorigeneic and anti-tumorigenic processes.

3. Stem Cell Biology

• This project studies the genetic control of cellular signals and signal transduction mechanisms underlying development of lineage-specific stem cells/progenitors in skeletal, neural and reproductive systems.

4. Ubiquitin-like Modifiers in Development and Disease

• A multi-disciplinary approach is used to study the of SUMO modification in mammalian development and disease. Studies include SUMO-mediated cell cycle regulation in diploidy, polyploidy and aneuploidy.

5. A novel G protein-coupled receptor in Wnt signaling

• This project investigates a newly identified G protein-coupled receptor in Wnt signaling. The mechanism by which this Gpr protein modulates Wnt production and transduction in health and disease is the main focus.

Current Appointments

• Associate Professor - Department of Biomedical Genetics, Center for Oral Biology (SMD)
• Associate Professor - Cancer Center (SMD)

Education
PhD Biomedical Sciences	Cuny Mt Sinai Sch of Med	1994
BS Chemistry	Taiwan - Non-Medical School	1989

Post-Doctoral Training & Residency
Postdoctoral Research Fellow Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032	1994 - 1997

Lab Description

Current Projects: Craniofacial Morphogenesis; Breast Development and Cancer; Stem Cell Biology; Ubiquitin-like Modifiers in Development and Disease; G protein-coupled receptor in Wnt signaling.

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Lab Website

http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/Aab/Oralbio/hsulabpage/weilab/index.htm

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Recent Journal Articles
Showing the 5 most recent journal articles. (19 available)
Wang S; Jensen JN; Seymour PA; Hsu W; Dor Y; Sander M; Magnuson MA; Serup P; Gu G. "Sustained Neurog3 expression in hormone-expressing islet cells is required for endocrine maturation and function." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2009; Epub 2009 Jun 01.
Hsu W; Mirando AJ; Yu HM. "Manipulating gene activity in Wnt1-expressing precursors of neural epithelial and neural crest cells." Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists. 2009; Epub 2009 Aug 03.
Yan Y; Tang D; Chen M; Huang J; Xie R; Jonason JH; Tan X; Hou W; Reynolds D; Hsu W; Harris SE; Puzas JE; Awad H; O'Keefe RJ; Boyce BF; Chen D. "Axin2 controls bone remodeling through the {beta}-catenin-BMP signaling pathway in adult mice." Journal of cell science. 2009; Epub 2009 Sep 08.
Fu J; Jiang M; Mirando AJ; Yu HM; Hsu W. "Reciprocal regulation of Wnt and Gpr177/mouse Wntless is required for embryonic axis formation." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2009; Epub 2009 Oct 19.
Liu B; Yu HM; Huang J; Hsu W. "Co-opted JNK/SAPK signaling in Wnt/beta-catenin-induced tumorigenesis." Neoplasia (New York, N.Y.). 2008; 10(9):1004-13.