Education
Harvard University
Ph.D. in Chemistry 1990-1995
Peking University
B.S. in Chemistry 1986-1990
Academic Experience
Westlake University
Chair Professor in Cell Biology 2019-present
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator 2008-2019
Professor, Department of Pharmacology 2008-2019
Associate Professor with tenure 2004-2008
Assistant Professor 1999-2004
Harvard Medical School
Postdoctoral training 1995-1999
Overview of Academic Research
Dr. Hongtao Yu studies the cellular mechanisms that govern chromosome inheritance and integrity, focusing on understanding the spindle checkpoint and sister-chromatid cohesion - cellular systems and processes that ensure all chromosomes are properly segregated during cell division. Defects in these processes lead to genomic instability and aneuploidy, which can cause birth defects, premature aging, and tumorigenesis. Using a multidisciplinary approach, his laboratory has contributed significantly to the molecular understanding of chromosome segregation and genome maintenance. His research has highlighted general principle in cell biology: exquisite spatiotemporal coordination of opposing activities and functionalities underlies cellular transitions
Major Honor and Awards
Dr. Yu is a recipient of the Damon Runyon Scholar Award (1999), Burroughs Wellcome New Investigator Award in Pharmacological Sciences (2000), Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (2000), Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar Award (2003), and W. M. Keck Distinguished Young Scholar Award (2003). He was elected as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2012, Board Member of the Chinese Biological Investigator Society (CBIS) in 2018.
Representative Research Achievements
(1) Sushama Sivakumar#, Shutao Qi#, Ningyan Cheng, Adwait A Sathe, Mohammed Kanchwala, Ashwani Kumar , Bret M Evers, Chao Xing, Hongtao Yu*; TP53 promotes lineage commitment of human embryonic stem cells through ciliogenesis and sonic hedgehog signaling, Cell Rep,2022, 38(7):110395.
(2) Ningyan Cheng, Guanchen Li, Mohammed Kanchwala, Bret M Evers, Chao Xing, Hongtao Yu *;STAG2 promotes the myelination transcriptional program in oligodendrocytes, Elife, 2022,11(e77848).
(3) Haishan Gao, Faxiang Li, Zhejian Ji, Zhubing Shi, Yang Li & Hongtao Yu *;Cryo-EM structures of human p97 double hexamer capture potentiated ATPase-competent state, Cell Discovery,2022,8(19).
(4) Zhubing Shi; Haishan Gao; Xiao-chen Bai*; Hongtao Yu*; Cryo-EM structure of the human cohesin-NIPBL-DNA complex, Science, 2020, 368(6498): 1454-1459.
(5) Yoori Kim#; Zhubing Shi#; Hongshan Zhang; Ilya J. Finkelstein*; Hongtao Yu*; Human cohesin compacts DNA by loop extrusion , Science, 2019, 366(6471):1345-1349.
(6) Ge Zheng; Mohammed Kanchwala; Chao Xing; Hongtao Yu*; MCM2-7-dependent cohesin loading during S phase promotes sister-chromatid cohesion, Elife, 2018,7(e33920).
(7) Zhonghui Lin; Xuelian Luo; Hongtao Yu*; Structural basis of cohesion cleavage by separase, Nature, 2016, 532(7597): 131-134.
(8) Eunhee Choi; Xiangli Zhang; Chao Xing; Hongtao Yu*; Mitotic Checkpoint Regulators Control Insulin Signaling and Metabolic Homeostasis, Cell, 2016, 166(3): 567-581.
(9) Zhejian Ji, Haishan Gao, and Hongtao Yu*; Kinetochore attachment sensed by competitive Mps1 and microtubule binding to Ndc80C.Science,2015,348, 1260-1264.
