The Huang Lab, led by Dr. Sui Huang, studies how gene regulatory networks control gene activity to create stable cellular states, like different cell types, and how these states transition, such as stem cells differentiating into specialized blood cells.
Waddington’s epigenetic landscape. By depicting the underside of the surface, Waddington illustrated the idea that genes can change the landscape during evolution. Image courtesy: tandfonline.com.
Cancer cells communicate to make a collective decision to initiate a growing tumor, stay dormant or reach a threshold beyond which the tumor does not grow. The Huang Lab is working with the University of Texas Austin to construct mathematical models of how cell-cell communication influences tumor growth dynamics.
Dr. Sui Huang presenting to his lab in an ISB conference room. Photo credit: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures.
STORMing Cancer, a multinational team in the UK Cancer Grand Challenges program, seeks to explain why so many cancers are preceded by chronic inflammation. As part of this team the Huang Lab uses single-cell sequencing of esophagus tumors and surrounding immune cells, to systematically dissect the stages through which inflammation resulting from the common esophageal reflux disease, leads to cancer.
Close up of lab work at ISB. Photo credit: Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures.
Cancer screening has led to a surge in finding precancerous lesions but only a small percentage will become clinical tumors. According to Huang’s new theory, the dormant (pre-)cancer cells can experience instability and either tip into the cell growth fate or stay dormant. The Huang Lab, with University of Texas Austin, conducts experiments to understand this critical transition.
Example of a knowledge graph. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons, recolored by ISB.
To allow researchers to harness our exploding biomedical knowledge, NIH’s ambitious “Biomedical Data TRANSLATOR” consortium is building a system to computationally interconnect all known biomedical concepts. Sui Huang and his collaborator Sergio Baranzini at UCSF lead a team in this consortium that develops novel algorithms for integrating patient data to directly validate the knowledge in the TRANSLATOR.
Photo of a person looking up at a starry sky. Photo credit: AdobeStock.
For future multiplanetary travel, NASA is taking a comprehensive molecular profile of animals and humans in microgravity to study its effect on health. Sui Huang supports the team of Sergio Baranzini at UCSF to integrate such data with all existing biomedical knowledge in this cross-agency project funded by the National Science Foundation through its visionary “Open Knowledge Network” initiative.
On April 7, 2022, Dr. Sui Huang spoke at a Research Roundtable event on the topic of “The Science Behind Masks.” In light of the recent changes to masking mandates, Dr. Huang explained the science behind how masks work and gave the tools to make an informed decision for yourself.
ISB’s Dr. Sui Huang has been a powerful voice in a growing chorus contending that masks are an effective tool to stop the spread of COVID-19. Huang calls guidelines from the CDC and other public health agencies “unfortunate,” as they sweep aside a potentially powerful measure that could help “flatten the curve.”
ISB’s Dr. Sui Huang uses the theory of complex systems and applies it to cancer research. In this video Q&A, he discusses the cancer paradox and highlights the importance of understanding the mechanism of why cancer treatments can backfire in order to open a new avenue for therapy and treatments.
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