Xianxin Hua

Xianxin Hua, M.D., Ph.D., is a tenured professor of cancer biology, Department of Cancer Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine since 2014. He is also an investigator at Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute (AFCRI), Penn Diabetes Research Center (DRC), and Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT). Dr. Hua holds a medical degree from Hubei Medical college, and Ph.D. degree from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. At University of Pennsylvania, he initiated his research program on investigating the molecular biology and physiology of the pathways regulated by the menin protein, which is encoded by the MEN1 gene whose loss of function mutation is associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1(MEN1) syndrome. His group was the first to propose that menin acts as a scaffold protein, controlling multiple functions including epigenetics, gene transcription, and cell signaling. Findings from his group also helped to elucidate the menin pathway as a hub that control cell proliferation in a context-dependent manner, suppressing growth of endocrine cells such as insulin-secreting beta cells, but promoting growth of a subset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and colorectal cancer (CRC). Dr. Hua’s group is instrumental in demonstrating that inhibition of the menin gene reverses pre-existing diabetes or prevents the development of diabetes in various preclinical models. Discoveries from Dr. Hua’s group led to multiple patents involving the menin pathways, including some licensed for clinical trials. Dr. Hua has over 100 peer-reviewed publications including over 50 publications in the field of menin biology.