Zeng-Quan Yang, Ph.D.
Address
HWCRC 815 4100 John R. Detroit, MI 48201Office address
HWCRC 815
4100 John R.
Detroit, MI 48201
Mentoring
Ion (John) Campeanu Graduated 2/10/2023
Department
Oncology
Research interests
Understand the genetic and epigenetic basis for the development and progression of human breast and prostate cancer.
Elucidate the fundamental mechanism by which dysregulations of histone lysine methyltransferases and demethylases contribute to tumorigenesis.
Study the role of endoplasmic reticulum factors in promoting breast cancer progression and drug-resistance.
Research description
Our research efforts have been focusing on understanding how genetic and epigenetic aberrations cause cancers, and identifying novel therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. In particular, we are focusing on genetic aberrations of histone lysine methyltransferases (KMTs) and demethylases (KDMs) in breast and prostate cancers. Recently my laboratory conducted a metagenomic analysis of KMTs and KDMs in breast cancer and identified associations among recurrent copy number alterations, gene expression, breast cancer subtypes, and clinical outcome. We identified seven KMT/KDMs have the highest frequency of genetic amplification and overexpression in aggressive basal breast cancer. One of them is the amplified in squamous cell carcinoma 1 (GASC1, also known as KDM4C) that was originally identified from the 9p24 amplified region of esophageal cancer cell lines. Our more recent experiments demonstrate that GASC1/KDM4C induces transformed phenotypes in vitro, and regulates a subset of genes involved in breast tumorigenesis. We are currently studying the fundamental mechanism of these KMT/KDMs in driving breast and prostate cancer growth, so that they can be developed as potential novel therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. Another project in our laboratory is aimed at studying the role of endoplasmic reticulum factors in malignancy maintenance and therapeutic resistance of breast cancer.
PubMed - my bibliography
Education/training
BS in Medicine (1985): Taishan Medical College, Shandong, China
MS in Basic Medical Science (1990): Peking Union Medical College (Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences) Beijing, China
PhD (2001): Tokyo Medical & Dental University
Post-Doc (2001-2004): University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Courses taught by Zeng-Quan Yang, Ph.D.
Winter Term 2026 (current)
Fall Term 2025
Spring-Summer Term 2025
Winter Term 2025
- CB7210 - Fundamentals of Cancer Biology
- CB7700 - Recent Developments in Cancer Biology
- CB7800 - Rigor and Reproducibility in Cancer Biology