HKU Science x Medicine Joint Seminar -- The Hippo Pathway: Signaling and Cancer
- Date & Time
- April 14, 2023 (Friday) | 2pm (HKT)
- Venue
- Theatre MWT1, LG1/F, Meng Wah Complex, Main Campus, HKU ( Map )
- Language
- English
- Speaker
- Professor Kun-Liang GUAN, PhD
Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
The Hippo pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signaling cascade regulating numerous biological processes, including cell growth and fate decision, organ size control, and regeneration. The core of the Hippo pathway consists of a kinase cascade, MST1/2 and LATS1/2, as well as downstream effectors, transcriptional coactivators YAP and TAZ. These core components of the Hippo pathway control transcription programs involved in cell proliferation, survival, mobility, stemness, and differentiation. The Hippo pathway is tightly regulated by both intrinsic and extrinsic signals, such as mechanical force, cell-cell contact, polarity, energy status, stress, and diffusible factors that act through G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Dysregulation of the Hippo pathway is frequently found in and contributes to cancer. Professor Guan will review the current understanding of Hippo signaling and discuss our recent studies revealing the unexpected role of YAP in breast cancer and Hippo pathway regulation by phosphoinositides.
Speaker Professor Kun-Liang GUAN, PhD
Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
Professor Kun-Liang Guan is a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), USA. He received his BS from Hangzhou University, China and his PhD from Purdue University. Prior to joining UCSD, Professor Guan served as a faculty at the University of Michigan from 1992 to 2007, where he progressed from Assistant Professor to the Halvor Christensen Professor. Since 2007, he has been a faculty in the Department of Pharmacology at UCSD. His research focuses on cellular signaling in cell growth, organ size control, and cancer. Over the years, he has made key contributions to the MAP kinase, cancer metabolism, mTOR, and Hippo signaling pathways. Professor Guan’s contributions to the scientific community have been recognised through various accolades, including the MacArthur Fellowship, the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Young Investigator Award, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Purdue University. He is also a Fellow of AAAS, further attesting his exceptional achievements in the field. Professor Guan has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers and is one of the most highly cited researchers in Molecular Biology and Genetics (H-index 167).
