Salk Institute researcher joins UC Davis Cancer Center

Hongwu Chen, a former post-doctoral researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has accepted a position with the UC Davis Cancer Center as an assistant professor of biological chemistry.

Chen's major interests include the critical role of estrogen receptors, androgen receptors and other nuclear hormone receptors in the development of breast and prostate cancers and certain types of leukemia. Chen's specialties also include chromatin modification and remodeling as control mechanisms of gene expression, cell growth and differentiation.

Chen received his Ph.D. from UC Davis in 1994 and obtained most of his postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute in San Diego. He pursued his graduate studies at UC Davis under the direction of Martin Privalsky in the UC Davis Department of Microbiology. Chen's postdoctoral fellowship at Salk continued his interest in the molecular actions of steroid hormone receptors. During his tenure, Chen made significant discoveries, several of which were published in the journal Cell.

"Dr. Chen's work in gene expression and signal transduction by nuclear receptors holds great promise in better understanding the problem of hormone-responsive cancers such as prostate and breast cancer," said Hsing-Jien Kung, deputy director of the cancer center and director of basic sciences. "We are very grateful to have him join us."

Chen will begin working at the UC Davis Cancer Center later this month.