Rate My Professor Zhibin Cui

Zhibin Cui, DDS, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Oral Biology at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. He joined the faculty in December 2024 as one of four new hires to bolster the department's research capabilities. Previously, Cui served as an assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He earned his PhD from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine’s Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery-Head and Neck Cancer Program in Shanghai, China, following dentistry training, and holds a DDS degree.

Cui's research focuses on head and neck/oral cancer genetics and immunology, including gene expression, gene therapy, cancer treatment and prevention, genome-wide screening, immunology, molecular and cellular biology, molecular genetics, oral biology, translational research, genetics, genomics, head and neck oncology, immunotherapy, and oral/maxillofacial surgery. His laboratory investigates genetic heterogeneity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), frequently mutated genes, interactions with the tumor microenvironment, resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and novel targeted therapies. Techniques employed include CRISPRi screening, next-generation sequencing, tissue engineering, preclinical mouse models, transgenic mutation knock-in models, and analyses of clinical patient samples. Active projects examine immunotherapy and cancer cell-death mechanisms, high-frequency genetic mutations in oral epithelium malignant transformation, evolutionary interactions between HNSCC and the tumor microenvironment, and therapeutic targets for genetically defined HNSCC subsets. A recipient of the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) postdoctoral fellowship, Cui has a robust publication record, featuring recent studies in Cell Death and Disease and Molecular Cancer Research. His basic and translational research advances understanding of genetic mutations interacting with the tumor immune microenvironment to identify molecular targets for therapy-resistant head and neck cancers.