Developmental Biology Program

The Danwei Huangfu Lab

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Research

Pictured: Danwei Huangfu
Danwei Huangfu, PhD
We apply both precision gene editing and large-scale CRISPR screening in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to explore mechanisms underlying human development. Specifically, we are interrogating the protein-coding regulators of pancreatic development and β cell function. The pathways that regulate these processes can be exploited for therapeutics to prevent and reverse diseases such as type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In a second, closely related area, we are developing approaches to discover developmental enhancers, and to understand the epigenetic regulation of noncoding regulatory elements with a focus on DNA methylation.

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The Danwei Huangfu Lab

Featured News

Finding
Researchers Gary Dixon (on TV monitor), Heng Pan, Olivier Elemento, and Danwei Huangfu in the lab
Stem Cell Research Unlocks a New Discovery about Controlling Genes

Sloan Kettering Institute scientists report new findings about a gene that helps regulate DNA methylation.
In the Lab
Fluorescent red and green cells
Scientists Use CRISPR to Learn How Cells Make Decisions

The genome-editing technique uncovered several genes previously not known to influence embryonic development.
Event
A student asks a question at last year’s "Major Trends” seminar.
A Sneak Preview of Our Annual “Major Trends” Seminar Live Webcast

Every year, MSK gives high school students and their teachers the opportunity to learn about cutting-edge biomedical research from our scientists.

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Publications

CRISPR screening uncovers a central requirement for HHEX in pancreatic lineage commitment and plasticity restriction. Yang D, Cho H, Tayyebi Z, Shukla A, Luo R, Dixon G, Ursu V, Stransky S, Tremmel DM, Sackett SD, Koche R, Kaplan SJ, Li QV, Park J, Zhu Z, Rosen BP, Pulecio J, Shi ZD, Bram Y, Schwartz RE, Odorico JS, Sidoli S, Wright CV, Leslie CS, Huangfu D. Nat Cell Biol. 2022 Jul;24(7):1064-1076. doi: 10.1038/s41556-022-00946-4. [PMID: 35787684]

QSER1 protects DNA methylation valleys from de novo methylation. Dixon G, Pan H, Yang D, Rosen BP, Jashari T, Verma N, Pulecio J, Caspi I, Lee K, Stransky S, Glezer A, Liu C, Rivas M, Kumar R, Lan Y, Torregroza I, He C, Sidoli S, Evans T, Elemento O, Huangfu D. Science. 2021 Apr 9;372(6538):eabd0875. doi: 10.1126/science.abd0875. [PMID: 33833093]

FOXA2 Is Required for Enhancer Priming during Pancreatic Differentiation. Lee K, Cho H, Rickert RW, Li QV, Pulecio J, Leslie CS, Huangfu D. Cell Rep. 2019;28(2):382-393.e7. 

Genome-scale screens identify JNK-JUN signaling as a barrier for pluripotency exit and endoderm differentiation. Li QV, Dixon G, Verma N, Rosen BP, Gordillo M, Luo R, Xu C, Wang Q, Soh CL, Yang D, Crespo M, Shukla A, Xiang Q, Dündar F, Zumbo P, Witkin M, Koche R, Betel D, Chen S, Massagué J, Garippa R, Evans T, Beer MA, Huangfu D. Nat Genet. 2019;51(6):999-1010.

TET proteins safeguard bivalent promoters from de novo methylation in human embryonic stem cells. Verma N, Pan H, Doré LC, Shukla A, Li QV, Pelham-Webb B, Teijeiro V, González F, Krivtsov A, Chang CJ, Papapetrou EP, He C, Elemento O, Huangfu D. Nat Genet. 2018;50(1):83-95.

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People

Pictured: Danwei Huangfu

Danwei Huangfu, PhD

  • The Huangfu laboratory uses human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) as a powerful genetic model to interrogate the transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms underlying cell fate decisions in development and disease.
  • PhD, Cornell University, Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences
  • BS, Fudan University
[email protected]
Email Address
212-639-5239
Office Phone
Download CV
PDF File

Members

Inbal Caspi
Inbal Caspi

Graduate Research Assistant

Renhe Luo
Renhe Luo

Graduate Research Assistant

Julian Pulecio

Sr. Research Scientist

Bess Rosen
Bess Rosen

Graduate Research Assistant

Dapeng Yang
Dapeng Yang

Sr. Research Scientist

Xian Zhang
Xian Zhang

Research Fellow

Adonis C. John
Adonis C. John

Administrative Assistant

Georgina Berrozpe
Georgina Berrozpe

Senior Research Scientist

Tamara Casteels
Tamara Casteels

Research Fellow - NYSTEM Training Award at the CSCB

Hyunwoo Cho
Hyunwoo Cho

Sr. Computational Biologist

Jeyaram (Jey) Ravichandran Damodaran
Jeyaram Ravichandran Damodaran

Research Technician

Samuel Kaplan
Samuel Kaplan

Graduate Research Assistant

GSK Student
Dingyu Liu

Graduate Research Assistant

Jielin Yan
Jielin Yan

Graduate Research Assistant

Nan Zhang

Research Fellow

Lab Alumni
Gary Dixon
Gary Dixon

Graduate Research Assistant

Kihyun Lee
Kihyun Lee

Graduate Research Assistant

Tracey Leonardo

Research Technician

Qing Li, BS
Qing Li

Graduate Research Assistant

Robert Rickert
Robert Rickert

Research Technician

Abhijit Shukla

Research Fellow

Chew-Li Soh, PhD
Chew-Li Soh

Research Fellow

Virginia Teijeiro

Graduate Research Assistant

Nipun Verma
Nipun Verma

Graduate Research Assistant

Daniela C. Georgieva
Daniela C. Georgieva

Research Technician

Federico Gonzalez-Grassi
Federico Gonzalez-Grassi

Research Fellow

Katherine Lelli, PhD
Katherine Lelli

Research Fellow

Zhong-Dong Shi
Zhong-Dong Shi

Research Fellow

Zengrong Zhu, PhD
Zengrong Zhu

Research Associate

Lab Affiliations

Achievements

  • Basil O’Connor Scholar, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation (2012-2014)
  • Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Young Investigators Award, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2011-2014)
  • Award from Harvard Catalyst & InnoCentive for the Ideation Challenge on “What Do We Not Know to Cure Type 1 Diabetes” (2010)
  • Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellowship (2006-2009)

Lab News & Events

Upcoming event

The velocity of life — Investigating the temporal dynamics of molecules, cells and organisms by single-cell genomics

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Rockefeller Research Laboratories
430 East 67th Street
Room RRL-116
New York, NY 10065

Open Positions

To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center

Graduate Student, Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Technician and Project Manager

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Danwei Huangfu discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Gene and Genome Editing
    Provision of Services (uncompensated)
  • Stem Cell Reports
    Provision of Services (uncompensated)
  • The Jackson Laboratory
    Provision of Services

The information published here is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2021 through disclosure submission in spring 2022). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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