Xiaohong Rose Yang is an American

biomedical scientist A biomedical scientist is a scientist trained in biology, particularly in the context of medical laboratory sciences or laboratory medicine. These scientists work to gain knowledge on the main principles of how the human body works and to find new ...

researching the genetics of

dysplastic nevus syndrome Dysplastic nevus syndrome, also known as familial atypical multiple mole–melanoma (FAMMM) syndrome, is an inherited cutaneous condition described in certain families, and characterized by unusual nevi and multiple inherited melanomas. First desc ...

and

chordoma Chordoma is a rare slow-growing neoplasm (cancer) that arises from cellular remnants of the notochord in the bones of the skull base and spine. The evidence for the notochordal origin of chordoma is the location of the tumors (along the neuraxis ...

, and etiologic heterogeneity of

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. She is a senior investigator at the

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

. Yang leads breast cancer studies in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.

Education

Yang received a Ph.D. in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1999. Her dissertation was titled ''KAI1, A Metastasis Suppressor Gene for Human Breast Cancer''. Yang's mentors were Marc E. Lippman, Careen K. Tang, and Lisa L. Wei. She completed a M.P.H. in epidemiology from the

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private university, private research university primarily based in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded as the Johns Hopkins ...

in 2003. Yang joined the genetic epidemiology branch (GEB) at the

(NCI) in 2000 as a

postdoctoral fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

Career

Yang became a

tenure-track Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

investigator at the NCI in 2006, and was appointed senior investigator upon receiving NIH scientific tenure in 2014. , she is a senior investigator. Yang serves on the editorial board for ''

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention ''Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal devoted to research in the field of cancer epidemiology. Topics include descriptive, analytical, biochemical, and molecular epidemiology, the use of biomarkers to ...

'', and is an adjunct associate professor at the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

. Her research interests include the genetics of dysplastic nevi syndrome and

, and etiologic heterogeneity of

Research

Through a

genome A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

-wide search for

copy number variation Copy number variation (CNV) is a phenomenon in which sections of the genome are repeated and the number of repeats in the genome varies between individuals. Copy number variation is a type of structural variation: specifically, it is a type of ...

s (CNVs), Yang identified the first susceptibility gene for familial chordoma—a germline duplication of the ''T'' gene that had eluded previous studies that focused on single

nucleotide Nucleotides are Organic compound, organic molecules composed of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both o ...

variants. Using funding from a 2008 NCI Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) Intramural Research Award, she applied the same technique in

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

-prone families and identified a germline duplication in a family without mutations in known melanoma genes. She presented these findings at the 2014 NCI Intramural Research Retreat. Yang uses genomic technologies and statistical approaches to evaluate copy number and

exome sequencing Exome sequencing, also known as whole exome sequencing (WES), is a genomic technique for sequencing all of the protein-coding regions of genes in a genome (known as the exome). It consists of two steps: the first step is to select only the subs ...

variants, as well as

mRNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of Protein biosynthesis, synthesizing a protein. mRNA is ...

expression,

miRNA Micro ribonucleic acid (microRNA, miRNA, μRNA) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules containing 21–23 nucleotides. Found in plants, animals, and even some viruses, miRNAs are involved in RNA silencing and post-transcri ...

expression,

DNA methylation DNA methylation is a biological process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule. Methylation can change the activity of a DNA segment without changing the sequence. When located in a gene promoter (genetics), promoter, DNA methylati ...

chromatin Chromatin is a complex of DNA and protein found in eukaryote, eukaryotic cells. The primary function is to package long DNA molecules into more compact, denser structures. This prevents the strands from becoming tangled and also plays important r ...

modification, and

telomere A telomere (; ) is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences associated with specialized proteins at the ends of linear chromosomes (see #Sequences, Sequences). Telomeres are a widespread genetic feature most commonly found in eukaryotes. In ...

length in disease susceptibility. Yang and her colleagues identified a rare inherited mutation in a gene involved in maintaining telomere stability in melanoma families, further supporting a role for abnormal telomeres in the development of melanoma. In her investigation of etiologic heterogeneity of breast cancer, Yang characterizes the molecular signature of

tumors A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

using

tissue microarray Tissue microarrays (also TMAs) consist of Paraffin wax, paraffin blocks in which up to 1000 separate Biological tissue, tissue cores are assembled in array fashion to allow multiplex (assay), multiplex Histology, histological analysis. History ...

and integrated tumor profiling analyses to identify

risk factors In epidemiology, a risk factor or determinant is a variable associated with an increased risk of disease or infection. Due to a lack of harmonization across disciplines, determinant, in its more widely accepted scientific meaning, is often ...

for specific cancer subtypes. She leads breast cancer studies in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia to identify distinct molecular alterations in tumors and adjacent normal tissues among Asian women, and to examine the associations of these molecular changes with genetic and environmental risk factors, breast tissue composition and density, and breast cancer subtypes.

Awards and honors

Yang received NCI Director's Intramural Innovation Awards in 2007 and 2009.

Selected works

* * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Xiaohong Rose Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women scientists 21st-century American biologists American women biologists American medical researchers Women medical researchers Cancer researchers Georgetown University alumni National Institutes of Health people Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni