Title: Epigenomic Identification and Characterization of Novel Cancer Genes and Biomarkers

Time: Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 14:30–16:00 (2:30 PM–4:00 PM)

Venue: 404 Smart Classroom, Zhenzhi Building, Ningbo University Health Science Center

Biography: Qian Tao

Tenured Professor, Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; National-level Talent; Principal Investigator of a National Key R&D Program; Director of the Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory; Executive Vice President of The Epigenetics Society. Former Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, USA.

His research focuses on the epigenetics of human malignancies. He has established CpG methylome profiles for multiple tumors and was the first to identify over 20 novel tumor suppressor genes inactivated by promoter CpG methylation, including RASAL1, PCDH10, ZNF382, DLEC1, CMTM3, ZBTB28, ZDHHC1, and KIAA0495/TUSC6. He has elucidated their functions, molecular mechanisms in tumorigenesis, and potential as cancer biomarkers. He holds 2 US patents for epigenetic biomarkers and has participated in multiple clinical trials for epigenetic drugs.

He serves as a reviewer for funding agencies including IARC (USA), MRC (UK), Wellcome Trust (UK), BMRC (Singapore), RGC and HMRF (Hong Kong), NSFC, and MOST (China). He is a frequent reviewer and editorial board member for multiple journals. He has published 190 high-impact papers (h-index 75, total citations >14,520). He contributed chapters on "Cancer Epigenetics" to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions of the national graduate textbook Oncology; the chapter on "dRRBS" in Methods in Molecular Biology (Humana Press, 2013); and the chapter on "Epigenetic Molecular Biomarkers" in Epigenetics (2022).