Rate My Professor Yuan-Hung Lo

Yuan-Hung Lo, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, Division of Discovery Science, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He also holds faculty appointments in the Genetics and Epigenetics Program and the Cancer Biology Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Lo obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from China Medical University, Taiwan, in 2006, followed by a Master of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology from National Tsing Hua University in 2008. He earned his Ph.D. in Integrative Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, with a focus on cancer biology, gastroenterology stem cell biology, and genetics, from Baylor College of Medicine in 2017. Prior to his current role, Lo completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cancer biology and cancer genomics at Stanford University from 2017 to 2023. His career trajectory reflects a commitment to advancing gastrointestinal cancer research through innovative model systems and genetic tools.

Lo's laboratory investigates the genomic and epigenetic mechanisms that drive cell identity alterations and drug-resistant states in gastrointestinal diseases, with a particular emphasis on gastric cancer. Utilizing CRISPR/Cas9-engineered primary human 3D organoid models complemented by single-cell multi-omics, his team dissects lineage plasticity in tumor development, tumor heterogeneity, oncogenic signaling, and therapeutic vulnerabilities. Research efforts also explore adult gastrointestinal stem cell dynamics, tumor microenvironment interactions, and immuno-oncology applications to develop physiologically relevant models for precision medicine. Lo has garnered numerous accolades, including the UT System Rising STARs Award in 2024, U Pilot Award from the U Foundation since 2025, NCI Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from 2021 to 2023, Stanford Cancer Institute Fellowship Award and American Association for Cancer Research Scholar-in-Training Award in 2021, and several fellowships from Baylor College of Medicine such as the NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00) from 2016 to 2021. His influential publications include "Large-scale CRISPR screening in primary human 3D gastric organoids enables comprehensive dissection of gene-drug interactions" (Nature Communications, 2025), "KAP1 promotes gastric adenocarcinoma progression by activating Hippo/YAP1 signaling via binding to HNRNPAB" (Cancer Letters, 2025), "A CRISPR/Cas9-Engineered ARID1A-Deficient Human Gastric Cancer Organoid Model Reveals Essential and Nonessential Modes of Oncogenic Transformation" (Cancer Discovery, 2021), "Applications of Organoids for Cancer Biology and Precision Medicine" (Nature Cancer, 2020), and "CRISPR screens in cancer spheroids identify 3D growth-specific vulnerabilities" (Nature, 2020). These works have significantly contributed to understanding tumorigenesis and therapeutic strategies in gastrointestinal cancers.