Education

1990-1993      Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California at Berkeley, Supervisor, Gerald M. Rubin

1984-1990      M.S., M.Ph., and Ph.D., Yale University, Supervisor, Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas

1978-1982      B.S., Fudan University

 

Academic Experience

2018-present Chair Professor of Genetics and Vice President, Westlake University

1993-2018     Assistant, Associate, and C.N.H. Long Chair Professor, Dept. of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine

1997-2018     Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

2003-2018     Vice Chair, Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine

2001-2013     Special Advisor to the President, Yale University

1997-2018     Adjunct Professor and Director, the Institute of Development Biology and Molecular Medicine, Fudan University

1993-2018     Assistant, Associate and C.N.H. Long Chair Professor, Dept. of Genetics, School of Medicine, Yale University

Overview of Academic Research

The Xu Lab is interested in developing novel methods and interdisciplinary basic and translational research involving genetics, neurobiology, and AI. We are currently focusing on the following topics:

1. Tissue size quantification and growth regulation in development and diseases.

2. Neural and AI bases of complex behaviors including quantification and consciousness.

3. Multi-disciplinary translational research for gene therapy, drugs, and Chinese herbs.

4. Development of novel genetic and biotech methodologies.

 

Major Honor and Awards

1.   Yale University Fellowship

2.   Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellowship

3.   Pew Scholar Award

4.   The Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance Awards

5.   Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator

6.   AAA Fellow

7.   Invited Member of Royal Society of Chemistry

8.   Served on 11 editorial boards including “Cell”, “Annual Review of Genetics”, and “Disease Models and Mechanisms (Founding Editor)”

9.   Chair of US-China Frontiers of Science Committee

10. President of Chinese Biological Investigators Society

11. Fudan University Presidential Awards

12. Vice President of Fudan Alumni Association

13. Shanghai Science and Technology Award, first class

14. Magnolia Silver Award, Shanghai

15. Overseas Young Scholar Award (B), China

16. CC Tan Life Science Innovation Award

17. Cheung Kong Scholars Distinguished Professor

18. National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award, China

19. Advisory Committee of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, China

Representative Research Achievements 

Chang H, Pan Y, Landrette S, Ding S, Yang D, Liu L, Tian L, Chai H, Li P, Li DM, Xu T*. Efficient genome-wide first-generation phenotypic screening system in mice using the piggyBac transposon. 2019, PNAS, 116:18507-18516.

 

Wu M, Pastor-Pareja JC & Xu T*. Interaction between RasV12 and scribble clones induces tumor growth and invasion. Nature. 2010 Jan 28;463(7280):545-8.

 

Pagliarini RA,Xu T*. A genetic screen in Drosophila for metastatic behavior. Science 2003,302(5648): 1227-1231.

 

Zhang S, Xu L, Lee J, Xu T*. Drosophila Atrophin homolog functions as a transcriptional co-repressor in multiple developmental processes. Cell 2002, 108:45-56.

 

Potter C J, Huang H, Xu T*. Drosophila Tsc1 functions with Tsc2 to antagonize insulin signaling in regulating cell growth, cell proliferation, and organ size. Cell 2001, 105:357-368.

 

Potter CJ, Pedraza LG,Xu T*. Akt regulates growth by directly phosphorylating Tsc2. Nature Cell Biology2002, 4(9): 658-665

 

Ding S, Wu X, Li G, Han M, Zhuang Y, Xu T*. Efficient Transposition of the piggyBac (PB) Transposon in Mammalian Cells and Mice. Cell 2005, 122(3):473-483.

 

Tao W, Zhang S, Turenchalk GS, Stewart RA, St. John MAR, Chen W, Xu T*. Human homolog of the Drosophila melanogaster lats tumor suppressor modulates CDC2 activity.  Nat Genet 1999, 21:177-181.

 

St. John MAR, Tao W, Fei X, Fukumoto R, Carcangiu ML, Brownstein DG, Parlow AF, McGrath J, Xu T*. Mice deficient for Lats1 develop soft tissue sarcomas, ovarian tumors and pituitary dysfunction.  Nature Genetics 1999, 21:182-186.

 

Xu T*, Wang W, Zhang S, Stewart RA, Yu W. Identifying tumor suppressors in genetic mosaics: the Drosophilalats gene encodes a putative protein kinase. Development 1995, 121:1053-1063.