Biography

Dr. Ping Mu's meteoric ascent in the field of cancer biology began with his B.S. in Biotechnology from Peking University, awarded in 2007. He then progressed to earn his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, specializing in Cancer Biology, from Weill Medical College of Cornell University in 2013. His postdoctoral tenure from 2013 to 2018, under the mentorship of Dr. Charles L. Sawyers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, was marked by significant contributions, including his pivotal discovery that SOX2 fosters lineage plasticity and antiandrogen resistance in prostate cancer, a finding published in Science in 2017.

Upon joining the faculty at UTSW, Dr. Mu swiftly established a research team with a sharp focus on uncovering novel gene deletions or alterations that lead to resistance to AR-targeted therapy in prostate cancer. In just a few years, Dr. Mu and his team have illuminated critical molecular mechanisms behind antiandrogen resistance, delving into lineage plasticity, epigenetic reprogramming, and APOBEC-driven mutagenesis. These groundbreaking discoveries have been featured in esteemed journals, including Cancer Cell (2020, 2023), Nature Cancer (2022), and Oncogene (2023).

Dr. Mu's exceptional research prowess has not gone unnoticed. His work has been recognized with several prestigious accolades, including the NIH K99 award, NIH R37 MERIT award, PCF Young Investigator Award, AACR NextGen Stars Award, SBUR Young Investigator Award, and multiple other research grants from NIH, DoD, and CPRIT. His rapid rise and substantial contributions in just five years highlight his status as a rising star in cancer biology, setting new benchmarks in the field and offering promising directions for future research in prostate cancer.

Education
Undergraduate
Peking University (2018), Biotechnology
Graduate School
Cornell University Medical Col (2018), Biomedical Sciences

Research Interest
  • Antiandrogen resistance
  • Drug screen
  • Epigenetics
  • Novel biomarkers
  • Prostate cancer
  • PROTAC

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

UBE2J1 is the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme regulating androgen receptor degradation and antiandrogen resistance.
Rodriguez Tirado C, Wang C, Li X, Deng S, Gonzalez J, Johnson NA, Xu Y, Metang LA, Sundar Rajan M, Yang Y, Yin Y, Hofstad M, Raj GV, Zhang S, Lemoff A, He W, Fan J, Wang Y, Wang T, Mu P, Oncogene 2023 Nov
Loss of SYNCRIP unleashes APOBEC-driven mutagenesis, tumor heterogeneity, and AR-targeted therapy resistance in prostate cancer.
Li X, Wang Y, Deng S, Zhu G, Wang C, Johnson NA, Zhang Z, Tirado CR, Xu Y, Metang LA, Gonzalez J, Mukherji A, Ye J, Yang Y, Peng W, Tang Y, Hofstad M, Xie Z, Yoon H, Chen L, Liu X, Chen S, Zhu H, Strand D, Liang H, Raj G, He HH, Mendell JT, Li B, Wang T, Mu P, Cancer Cell 2023 Jul
Ectopic JAK-STAT activation enables the transition to a stem-like and multilineage state conferring AR-targeted therapy resistance.
Deng S, Wang C, Wang Y, Xu Y, Li X, Johnson NA, Mukherji A, Lo UG, Xu L, Gonzalez J, Metang LA, Ye J, Tirado CR, Rodarte K, Zhou Y, Xie Z, Arana C, Annamalai V, Liu X, Vander Griend DJ, Strand D, Hsieh JT, Li B, Raj G, Wang T, Mu P, Nat Cancer 2022 Sep 3 9 1071-1087
Loss of CHD1 Promotes Heterogeneous Mechanisms of Resistance to AR-Targeted Therapy via Chromatin Dysregulation.
Zhang Z, Zhou C, Li X, Barnes SD, Deng S, Hoover E, Chen CC, Lee YS, Zhang Y, Wang C, Metang LA, Wu C, Tirado CR, Johnson NA, Wongvipat J, Navrazhina K, Cao Z, Choi D, Huang CH, Linton E, Chen X, Liang Y, Mason CE, de Stanchina E, Abida W, Lujambio A, Li S, Lowe SW, Mendell JT, Malladi VS, Sawyers CL, Mu P, Cancer Cell 2020 Mar
SOX2 promotes lineage plasticity and antiandrogen resistance in TP53- and RB1-deficient prostate cancer.
Mu P, Zhang Z, Benelli M, Karthaus WR, Hoover E, Chen CC, Wongvipat J, Ku SY, Gao D, Cao Z, Shah N, Adams EJ, Abida W, Watson PA, Prandi D, Huang CH, de Stanchina E, Lowe SW, Ellis L, Beltran H, Rubin MA, Goodrich DW, Demichelis F, Sawyers CL Science 2017 01 355 6320 84-88
Rb1 and Trp53 cooperate to suppress prostate cancer lineage plasticity, metastasis, and antiandrogen resistance.
Ku SY, Rosario S, Wang Y, Mu P, Seshadri M, Goodrich ZW, Goodrich MM, Labbé DP, Gomez EC, Wang J, Long HW, Xu B, Brown M, Loda M, Sawyers CL, Ellis L, Goodrich DW Science 2017 01 355 6320 78-83
The driver role of JAK-STAT signalling in cancer stemness capabilities leading to new therapeutic strategies for therapy- and castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Lo UG, Chen YA, Cen J, Deng S, Luo J, Zhau H, Ho L, Lai CH, Mu P, Chung LWK, Hsieh JT, Clin Transl Med 2022 08 12 8 e978
Tumor Microenvironment-Derived NRG1 Promotes Antiandrogen Resistance in Prostate Cancer.
Zhang Z, Karthaus WR, Lee YS, Gao VR, Wu C, Russo JW, Liu M, Mota JM, Abida W, Linton E, Lee E, Barnes SD, Chen HA, Mao N, Wongvipat J, Choi D, Chen X, Zhao H, Manova-Todorova K, de Stanchina E, Taplin ME, Balk SP, Rathkopf DE, Gopalan A, Carver BS, Mu P, Jiang X, Watson PA, Sawyers CL, Cancer Cell 2020 08 38 2 279-296.e9
The paracrine induction of prostate cancer progression by caveolin-1.
Lin CJ, Yun EJ, Lo UG, Tai YL, Deng S, Hernandez E, Dang A, Chen YA, Saha D, Mu P, Lin H, Li TK, Shen TL, Lai CH, Hsieh JT, Cell Death Dis 2019 Nov 10 11 834
An allelic series of miR-17 ~ 92-mutant mice uncovers functional specialization and cooperation among members of a microRNA polycistron.
Han YC, Vidigal JA, Mu P, Yao E, Singh I, González AJ, Concepcion CP, Bonetti C, Ogrodowski P, Carver B, Selleri L, Betel D, Leslie C, Ventura A Nat. Genet. 2015 Jul 47 7 766-75

Honors & Awards
  • SAU Rising Star Award
    (2023-2023)
  • AACR 2020 NextGen Stars
    (2020-2020)
  • AUA 2020 Early Career Investigator Showcase
    (2020-2020)
  • Society for Basic Urologic Research Young Investigator Award
    (2019-2019)
  • Welch Foundation Research Award
    (2019-2022)
  • Deborah and W.A. “Tex” Moncrief, Jr. Scholar in Medical Research
    (2018-2022)
  • DoD Idea Development Award
    (2018-2021)
  • UT Southwestern Translational Research Pilot Award
    (2018-2020)
  • CPRIT First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Member
    (2017-2022)
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Postdoctoral Researcher Award
    (2017)
  • NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award
    (2017-2021)
  • Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award
    (2017-2020)
  • DoD PCRP Postdoctoral Training Award
    (2014-2016)