Biography

Dr. Chen received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Peking University in 1990. After spending two years in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at UCLA, she moved to the Developmental Biology Department at Stanford University and obtained her PhD degree in 1998. Her graduate research in Bruce Baker’s laboratory focused on pattern formation in Drosophila imaginal discs. She was a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Eric Olson at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where she initiated an independent project investigating the mechanisms underlying cell-cell fusion. In 2004, Dr. Chen joined the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to a Full Professor in 2016. Her lab has discovered the asymmetric fusogenic synapse that mediates a variety of cell-cell fusion events. Dr. Chen moved back to UT Southwestern in 2016, where she continues to use a multifaceted approach including genetics, cell biology, biochemistry and biophysics to address major unanswered questions in cell-cell fusion using organisms ranging from insects to mammals.  

Education

Undergraduate
Peking University (1990), Biochemistry
Graduate School
Stanford University (1998), Developmental Biology

Research Interest

  • Actin cytoskeletal dynamics
  • Cell-Cell Fusion
  • Mechanobiology
  • Muscle development and regeneration

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Loss of Myomixer Results in Defective Myoblast Fusion, Impaired Muscle Growth, and Severe Myopathy in Zebrafish.
Wu P, Yong P, Zhang Z, Xu R, Shang R, Shi J, Zhang J, Bi P, Chen E, Du S, Mar Biotechnol (NY) 2022 Sep
To fuse or to divide, that was the question.
Chen EH, Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2022 Aug
YAP induces an oncogenic transcriptional program through TET1-mediated epigenetic remodeling in liver growth and tumorigenesis.
Wu BK, Mei SC, Chen EH, Zheng Y, Pan D, Nat Genet 2022 Jul
Cell Competition Constitutes a Barrier for Interspecies Chimerism.
Zheng C, Hu Y, Sakurai M, Pinzon-Arteaga CA, Li J, Wei Y, Okamura D, Ravaux B, Barlow HR, Yu L, Sun HX, Chen EH, Gu Y, Wu J, Nature 2021 Jan

Books

Featured Books Legend Featured Books

Cell Fusion

E. Chen (Ed.) (2008). NJ, Humana Press Inc.

Honors & Awards

  • ASCB Fellow, American Society for Cell Biology
    (2022)
  • WICB Mid-Career Award for Excellence in Research, American Society for Cell Biology
    (2018)
  • HHMI Faculty Scholar
    (2016)
  • National Established Investigator Award, American Heart Association
    (2012)
  • Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Research Award, March of Dimes
    (2006)
  • Searle Scholar, The Chicago Community Trust
    (2006)
  • David and Lucile Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering
    (2005)
  • Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation Young Investigator Award
    (2005)
  • National Scientist Development Award, American Heart Association
    (2005)
  • The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
    (2000)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

  • American Society for Cell Biology (2008)
  • Biophysical Society (2012)