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In Memoriam

Benson B. Roe M.D., Professor Emeritus of Surgery, passed away on August 6th at the age of 94. Dr. Roe, a pioneer in open heart surgery, had a long and distinguished career at UCSF. 

Read more about his life >>

Biao He, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery

Contact Information

2340 Sutter Street N-222, Box 1724
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA 94143-1724
(415) 476-6907 Phone
biao.he@ucsfmedctr.org

Education

  • 1988-93, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China B.Sc. Biochemistry
  • 1993-95, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China M.S. Biochemistry
  • 1995-01, University of Virginia Ph.D. Molecular Genetics

Residencies

Fellowships

  • 1992 Guanghua Scholarship Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
  • 1995 Hua Luogeng Memorial Fellowship Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
  • 1995-1996 Fellowship

Postdoctoral Training

  • 2001-02, Postdoctoral Researcher, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center,
  • 2002-04, Assistant Research Molecular Biologist, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Board Certification

Program Affiliations

  • Thoracic Oncology Laboratory
  • Thoracic Oncology Program
  • UCSF Department of Surgery
  • UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Clinical Expertise

Research Interests

  • Epigenetics
  • Isolation of lung cancer stem cells
  • Microarrays and high throughput scanning
  • Novel targeted therapies for lung & colon cancer, mesothelioma
  • Small molecule inhibitors
  • Stem cell biology, cancer stem cells
  • Wnt and Hedgehog signaling

Website Links

Biography

Dr. Biao He is a molecular geneticist and senior scientist in the Thoracic Oncology Laboratory at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. He graduated from the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, China with a B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry. He later received a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in molecular genetics. Dr. He was recruited to the Thoracic Oncology Laboratory based on his extensive knowledge of the Wnt signaling pathway and RNA interference (RNAi). He began as a postdoctoral fellow and soon advanced to the position of Assistant Research Molecular Biologist. In 2004, Dr. He joined the UCSF faculty as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery. Since 2001, Dr. He has been the author of numerous peer-reviewed papers. His current research is focused on the molecular mechanisms of non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma. He is also developing targeted therapies against these diseases.

Dr. He has also been the recipient of numerous awards including the Hua Luogeng Memorial Fellowship, Eileen Ludwig Award for Thoracic Oncology Research, and Barbara Isackson Award for Thoracic Oncology Research.

Research Summary

Dr. He's current research focuses on the molecular mechanisms in tumorigenesis of lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, and the development of targeted therapies for these cancer types. Dr. He has been a PI and co-PI of a number of research projects funded by NIH and Foundations, such as, identification and validation of novel potential therapeutic targets in lung cancer and mesothelioma; role of inflammation and epigenetic alterations in lung carcinogenesis; elucidation of novel molecular mechanisms involving Wnt and Hedgehog signal pathways in carcinogenesis; identification and validation of prognostic and predictive markers; and development of small molecule inhibitors of signaling pathways as potential leads for targeted cancer therapies.

Selected Publications

  1. He B, Lee AY, Dadfarmay S, You L, Xu Z, Reguart N, Mazieres J, Mikami I, McCormick F, Jablons DM. Secreted frizzled-related protein 4 is silenced by hypermethylation and induces apoptosis in beta-catenin-deficient human mesothelioma cells. Cancer Res. 65: 743-8, Feb/1/2005.
  2. He B, Reguart N, You L, Mazieres J, Xu Z, Lee AY, Mikami I, McCormick F, Jablons DM. Blockade of Wnt-1 signaling induces apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells containing downstream mutations. Oncogene. 24: 3054-8, Apr/21/2005.
  3. Zhou BB, Peyton M, He B, Liu C, Girard L, Caudler E, Lo Y, Baribaud F, Mikami I, Reguart N, Yang G, Li Y, Yao W, Vaddi K, Gazdar AF, Friedman SM, Jablons DM, Newton RC, Fridman JS, Minna JD, Scherle PA. Targeting ADAM-mediated ligand cleavage to inhibit HER3 and EGFR pathways in non-small cell lung cancer. Cancer Cell. 10: 39-50, Jul/2006.
  4. Fujii N, You L, Xu Z, Uematsu K, Shan J, He B, Mikami I, Edmondson LR, Neale G, Zheng J, Guy RK, Jablons DM. An antagonist of dishevelled protein-protein interaction suppresses beta-catenin-dependent tumor cell growth. Cancer Res. 67: 573-9, Jan/15/2007.
  5. Shi Y, He B, Kuchenbecker KM, You L, Xu Z, Mikami I, Yagui-Beltran A, Clement G, Lin YC, Okamoto J, Bravo DT, Jablons DM. Inhibition of Wnt-2 and galectin-3 synergistically destabilizes beta-catenin and induces apoptosis in human colorectal cancer cells. Int J Cancer. 121: 1175-1181, May/29/2007.
View All Publications at UCSF Profiles (Powered by CTSI)

In the News

  • Mulitgene Assay Better Predictor of Survival than Conventional Staging

    The Lancet - UCSF News Center - Medscape Medical News - Jan 26, 2012

    Jablons Etal Horiz

    In the two largest clinical studies ever conducted on the molecular genetics of lung cancer, an international team, led by UCSF thoracic surgeons David M. Jablons, M.D. and Michael Mann, M.D., demonstrated that a 14-gene prognostic molecular assay better predicted the likelihood of death in early-stage lung cancer patients versus conventional staging guidelines. Johannes Kratz, M.D., a former surgical resident in the Thoracic Oncology Laboratory, helped spearhead the development of the assay and was lead author of a paper published in The Lancet discussing the results. John Minna, M.D.", Max L. Thomas Distinguished Chair in Molecular Pulmonary Oncology at UT Southwestern lauded the results, stating that the assay was "head and shoulders" above the rest and ready for "prime time" clinical use.

    New Lung Cancer Test Predicts Survival (by Jason Bardi - UCSF News Center)

    Genetic Test for Early Stage Lung Cancer (Video Interview with Johannes Kratz, M.D.)

    David Jablons Audio Interview with The Lancet

    The Lancet Paper

    New Lung Cancer Assay Ready for Prime Time (Medscape Oncology News)

  • Biao He Awarded R01 Funding to Study Small Molecule Inhibitors in NSCLC

    UCSF Department of Surgery - Feb 04, 2009

    Biao He, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Surgery and molecular geneticist in the Thoracic Oncology Laboratory, was awarded an NIH R01 grant to study small molecule inhibitors of Wnt-2 transcription in NSCLC. The goal of the research is to develop novel Wnt-based therapies to treat lung cancer.

    Read Abstract

  • Biao He Awarded Lung Cancer Research Grant by Joan's Legacy

    Joan's Legacy, New York, NY - Oct 31, 2006

    Biao He, PhD was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Joan Scarangello Foundation to Conquer Lung Cancer, also known as Joan's Legacy to study Bronchioalveolar Carcinoma (BAC): Identification of Novel Wnt Signaling-Related Therapeutic Targets Against Bronchioalveolar Carcinoma.

  • UCSF Researchers Fingerprint Lung Tumors, Test New Drug Candidate

    UCSF Today, CA - Jul 27, 2006

    Adding their own contributions to a rapidly advancing field, UCSF researchers - along with colleagues from Incyte Corporation and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center - have described new targets in lung cancer and evaluated a promising new drug candidate that halts growth signals in tumor cells grown in the lab. Their report is featured in the July issue of the scientific journal Cancer Cell.

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