Distinguished Professor and Chairman, Department of Anatomy and Histology.

I have a broad background in both clinical and basic cancer research.  As a clinician, I devoted myself to clinical cancer research for 11 years before switching to basic cancer research.  As a graduate student in Japan, I learned molecular biology and carcinogenesis. As a postdoc and research faculty at UNC-CH, I became interested in mouse genetic approaches to investigating the molecular and cellular basis of tumor suppression. Though time consuming and complicated, utilizing such methodology is a necessary step toward the goal. I generated 5 strains of knockout mice and characterized more than 30 different mouse mutants for various cell cycle inhibitors and tumor suppressors, and demonstrated their functions in the control of stem/progenitor cells and tumorigenesis of multiple tissues.

I discovered that p18^INK4c is a downstream target of GATA3 and restrains mammary luminal progenitor proliferation and tumorigenesis (Pei XH, Cancer Cell, 2009).  As a tenure track assistant and associate professor at the University of Miami, I published 17 research papers. I discovered that deletion of Brca1 causes luminal-to-basal mammary tumor transformation (Bai F, Oncogene, 2013).  This paper was published with a special “Commentary” paper in the same issue of the journal (Ng T, Oncogene, 2013), in which the authors commented my findings as “these findings will hopefully yield new approaches to target BRCA1-deficient tumors”. Further, I discovered that BRCA1 suppresses EMT during mammary and tumor development (Bai F, Cancer Res., 2014). I generated a mutant mouse strain lacking p19^INK4d and demonstrated that p19^INK4d is a tumor suppressor (Bai F, Mol Cell Biol., 2014). I discovered that p16^INK4a suppresses BRCA1-deficient mammary stem cell function and tumorigenesis (Scott A, Oncotarget, 2016; Cell Cycle, 2017). I found that GATA3 suppresses B cell lymphomagenesis in p18^INK4c deficient background (Liu S, Oncotarget, 2016). I discovered that estrogen promotes estrogen receptor negative BRCA1 deficient tumor metastasis (Wang C, Breast Cancer Res, 2018). I generated multiple mutant mouse strains that develop ER-positive and -negative mammary tumors with a serial of tumor cell lines that are transplantable. Through these experiences, I have demonstrated my ability to successfully carry out research project, using a combination of multi-disciplinary approaches.

Since Oct 2018, I have been moving to China and working as a full professor at the Shenzhen University. In addition to the abovementioned areas, I am also interested in 1) how LncRNA controls cancer development and progression; and 2) how cell cycle inhibitors and transcription factors control cochlea hair cells in hearing loss and tubular cells in polycystic kidney disease.

Research Projects:

Current Grants in China

1. National Natural Science Foundation of China (81972637)

Xin-Hai Pei, PI

The role of BRCA1-GATA3 axis in suppressing basal-like breast cancers.

01/01/2020 - 12/31/2023, 510,000 CNY

2. Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2019A1515011343)

Xin-Hai Pei, PI

The mechanism of proliferation and differentiation of breast cancer cells

10/01/2019-09/30/2022, 100,000 CNY

3.  Natural Science Foundation of Shenzhen

Xin-Hai Pei, PI

The role of estrogen in promoting estrogen receptor negative breast cancer metastasis

01/01/2020-12/31/2022, 400,000 CNY

Representative Grants completed in USA (4 out of 13, Total $2,714,398):

1.  Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP), Idea Award (W81XWH-10-1-0302)

Xin-Hai Pei, PI

BRCA1 controls mammary stem/progenitor differentiation and proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumorigenesis

04/15/2010 to 05/14/2012, $554,491

2.  University of Miami, Startup Funding

Xin-Hai Pei, PI

Adult stem cell cycle control and tumorigenesis

11/01/2010 to 05/31/2013, $978,522

3.   Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP),  Idea Expansion Award (W81XWH1310282)

Xin-Hai Pei, PI

The Role of BRCA1 in Suppressing Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Mammary Gland and Tumor Development

09/01/2013 to 08/31/2016, $537,779

4.   Florida Department of Health (Bankhead Coley Cancer Research Grant Award - 7BC07)

Xin-Hai Pei, PI

Targeting BRCA1 deficient breast cancers

03/01/2017 to 02/28/2018, $97,880

Selected Peer-reviewed Publications:

1. Wang C, Bai F, Zhang LH, Scott A, Li E, Pei XH*. Estrogen promotes estrogen receptor negative BRCA1-deficient tumor initiation and progression. Breast Cancer Research. 2018, 20(1);74:1-17.

2. Bai F, Chan HL, Scott A, Smith MD, Fan C, Herschkowitz JI, Perou, CM, Livingstone AS, Robbins DJ, Capobianco AJ, Pei XH*. BRCA1 suppresses epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and stem cell dedifferentiation during mammary and tumor development. Cancer Research. 2014, 74(21):6161-6172.

3. Bai F, Smith MD, Chan HL, Pei XH*. Germline mutation of Brca1 alters the fate of mammary luminal cells and causes luminal-to-basal mammary tumor transformation. Oncogene. 2013, 30;32(22): 2715-2725. Featured Article.

Commentary in Oncogene: BRCA1 mutations and luminal-basal transformation. Ng T, Irshad S, Stebbing J. 2013, 30;32(22):2712-2714.

4. Pei XH, Bai F, Li Z, Smith MD, Whitewolf G, Jin R, and Xiong Y*. Cytoplasmic CUL9/PARC ubiquitin ligase is a tumor suppressor and promotes p53-dependent apoptosis. Cancer Research. 2011, 71, 2969-2977.

5. Pei XH#, Bai F#, Smith MD, Usary J, Fan C, Pai SY, Ho IC, Perou CM, Xiong Y*. CDK inhibitor p18INK4c is a downstream target of GATA3 and controls mammary luminal progenitor cell proliferation and tumorigenesis.  Cancer Cell, 2009, 15, 389-401.