Baoyu (Stone) Chen, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Associate Professor School Medical School Department Internal Medicine | Biophysics Graduate Programs Molecular Biophysics Biography Stone Chen, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of its Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases. Dr. Chen holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Hunan University in Changsha, China. He earned a master's degree in biochemstry and molecular biology from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and a doctorate in chemical biology from Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania. He then completed postdoctoral research at UT Southwestern. Before joining the UT Southwestern faculty in 2025, Dr. Chen was a member of the Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology faculty at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Dr. Chen’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that link membrane signaling to cytoskeletal dynamics and their implications in human disease. His lab investigates key protein assemblies involved in actin polymerization and endosomal trafficking, including the WAVE and WASH complexes, as well as the CCC-Retriever and Retromer complexes. These systems are essential for regulating cellular processes such as migration, adhesion, metabolism, immune activation, and neural development. By integrating biochemical, biophysical, computational, and structural approaches—particularly cryo-electron microscopy—Dr. Chen’s team aims to uncover how these molecular systems drive cellular function and contribute to disease pathology. His research is supported by multiple NIH and NSF grants, including an NIH MIRA and an NSF CAREER Award. Dr. Chen is an active member of the American Heart Association, the American Society for Cell Biology, and the Society for Neuroscience. Education Graduate School (2008) Research Interest Biochemistry, Biophysics & Structural Biology Cytoskeleton Intracellular Trafficking Membrane Protein Signaling Publications Featured Publications The Rab32-LRMDA-Retriever Complex is a Key Regulator of Intestinal Immune Homeostasis Ran Song, Chigozie Ngoka, Amika Singla, Daniel A. Kramer, Alka Diwaker, Daniel J. Boesch, Qi Liu, James J. Moresco, Bruce Beutler, Hans-Christian Reinecker, Ezra Burstein, Baoyu Chen, Emre E. Turer bioRxiv 2025 Structural basis for Retriever-SNX17 assembly and endosomal sorting. Singla A, Boesch DJ, Fung HYJ, Ngoka C, Enriquez AS, Song R, Kramer DA, Han Y, Banarer E, Lemoff A, Juneja P, Billadeau DD, Bai X, Chen Z, Turer EE, Burstein E, Chen B, Nat Commun 2024 Nov 15 1 10193 Structural organization of the retriever-CCC endosomal recycling complex. Boesch DJ, Singla A, Han Y, Kramer DA, Liu Q, Suzuki K, Juneja P, Zhao X, Long X, Medlyn MJ, Billadeau DD, Chen Z, Chen B, Burstein E, Nat Struct Mol Biol 2023 Dec The intrinsically disordered cytoplasmic tail of a dendrite branching receptor uses two distinct mechanisms to regulate the actin cytoskeleton. Kramer DA, Narvaez-Ortiz HY, Patel U, Shi R, Shen K, Nolen BJ, Roche J, Chen B, Elife 2023 Aug 12 Arf GTPase activates the WAVE regulatory complex through a distinct binding site. Yang S, Tang Y, Liu Y, Brown AJ, Schaks M, Ding B, Kramer DA, Mietkowska M, Ding L, Alekhina O, Billadeau DD, Chowdhury S, Wang J, Rottner K, Chen B, Sci Adv 2022 Dec 8 50 eadd1412 Structures reveal a key mechanism of WAVE regulatory complex activation by Rac1 GTPase. Ding B, Yang S, Schaks M, Liu Y, Brown AJ, Rottner K, Chowdhury S, Chen B, Nat Commun 2022 Sep 13 1 5444 A Dendritic Guidance Receptor Complex Brings Together Distinct Actin Regulators to Drive Efficient F-Actin Assembly and Branching. Zou W, Dong X, Broederdorf TR, Shen A, Kramer DA, Shi R, Liang X, Miller DM, Xiang YK, Yasuda R, Chen B, Shen K Dev. Cell 2018 05 45 3 362-375.e3 Rac1 GTPase activates the WAVE regulatory complex through two distinct binding sites. Chen B, Chou HT, Brautigam CA, Xing W, Yang S, Henry L, Doolittle LK, Walz T, Rosen MK Elife 2017 Sep 6 The WAVE Regulatory Complex Links Diverse Receptors to the Actin Cytoskeleton. Chen B, Brinkmann K, Chen Z, Pak CW, Liao Y, Shi S, Henry L, Grishin NV, Bogdan S, Rosen MK Cell 2014 Jan 156 1-2 195-207 CCDC22 mutations that impair COMMD binding cause attenuated 3C/Ritscher-Schinzel syndrome. Singla A, Rogers C, Touma MJ, El-Najjar Y, Colley A, Boesch DJ, Billadeau DD, Gecz J, Chen B, Burstein E, BMC Med Genomics 2025 May 18 1 98 Results 1-10 of 42 1 2 3 4 5 Next Last Honors & Awards NSF CAREER Award (2020-2025) Professional Associations/Affiliations American Heart Association American Society for Cell Biology Society for Neuroscience
