Biography
Dr. Liang You received his M.D. in 1987 from the Jinzhou Medical College in China and his Ph.D. in pathology from the Medical College of Ohio in 1994. He began work at UCSF in the thoracic oncology laboratory after work at the National Cancer Institute. At UCSF, Dr. You has made a significant impact on lung cancer and mesothelioma research. Most notably, he has been been instrumental in helping Dr. David Jablons mold a fledgling research effort into a thriving molecular genomics laboratory, an integral part of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and nationally recognized.
In November 2007, Dr. You was presented with the David Jablons "Asclepios" Award by the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation for his pioneering research.
Research Overview
Dr. You has been a creative and dynamic force in the lab and his work has led to numerous discoveries. He helped demonstrate the relationship of p14ARF tumor suppressor deletions to the p53 pathway in mesothelioma and the effects of oncolytic viruses upon these tumors. He also discovered several novel mechanisms for the activation of upstream WNT pathways.
Dr. You has helped identify several novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets in lung cancer and mesothelioma. He and his colleagues demonstrated overexpression of Dishevelled-3 and silencing of SFRP-2, SOCS-3 and WIF-1 through promoter methylation. Dr. You and chemist Dr. Naoaki Fujii developed a small molecule Wnt pathway inhibitor, FJ9, that disrupts the interaction between the Frizzled receptor and Dishevelled, a Wnt signal transducer.
Dr. You is currently investigating the use of recombinant human WIF-1 protein as a cancer therapy and seeking out new therapeutic targets and novel interventions.
Mentoring Overview
Dr. You has longstanding expertise in lung cancer and mesothelioma research and in the use of animal models to investigate genetic events for cancer initiation and progression. He aims to develop novel therapeutics targeting lung cancer metastasis and mesothelioma, analyzing key genes and proteins in self-renewal signaling pathways to find new drug targets. He has discovered and/or validated Wnt2, Dvl3, CK2, Cul4A and YAP as potential drug targets for human lung cancer and/or mesothelioma. In the last two decades, Dr. You has successfully trained over 40 pre-doctorates and 35 post-doctorates including many surgeons.
Opportunities for translational research projects in Dr. You's lab include themes of lung cancer and mesothelioma biology including genetics, epigenetics, signaling pathways, drug resistance and synergy, target and drug discovery.