Dr. Wolf obtained an M.D. degree from the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich in 1995. After postdoctoral studies at Harvard and Stanford, he held junior and senior faculty positions at the Harvard School of Public Health, the Burnham Institute, and Xiamen University. From 2019 - 2022, Dr. Wolf joined the MGZ Medical Genetics Center in Munich as resident in human genetics and medical head of biomarkers. Since 2021, he has held an adjunct group leader position at the Technical University of Munich. Dr. Wolf joined Westlake University as Full Professor in 2023.

2015

Leading University Talent of Fujian Province

2013

Chair, Organizing Committee, Zomes VIII Conference 

2010

Scientific Organizing Board, Zomes VI Conference, Safed, Israel

The Wolf Lab is focused on understanding RNA-based mechanisms underlying cellular processes related to cancer and age-related diseases. The lab is using a combination of biochemical, genetic, and systems biology approaches to investigate these processes at the molecular and cellular levels. The lab's findings have important implications for the development of novel therapeutics for cancer and age-related disorders.

One of the main research areas of the Wolf Lab is the regulation of protein synthesis by the eukaryotic initiation factor 3 (eIF3) complex. The lab has shown that eIF3 plays mRNA selective roles in the initiation and elongation phases of translation and that eIF3 is critical for maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis and muscle health. Distinct subunits of eIF3 are also required for tumor growth raising the possibility of therapeutically targeting eIF3 and mitochondrial metabolism in cancer.

An emerging area of interest is RNA-based mechanisms of genetic diseases. We plan to utilize multi-omics approaches and disease modeling in iPSCs to identify novel disease mechanisms with a focus on muscle and neurodegenerative disorders. We will also be pursuing approaches for the therapeutic targeting of RNA-based disease mechanisms.

1. Duan H, Zhang S, Wu Y, Sun L, Hu C, Tian G, Oellinger R, Rad R, Kong X*, Cheng Y*, Tuller T, Wolf DA*. eIF3 mRNA selectivity profiling reveals eIF3k as a cancer-relevant regulator of ribosome content (2023) The EMBO Journal e112362

2. Jain S, HuC, Kluza J, Ke W, Bleilevels A, Tian G, Giurgiu M, Campos AR, Charbono A, Stickeler E, Maurer J, Holinski-Feder E, Vaisburg A, Bureik M, Luo G, Marchetti P, Cheng Y, Wolf DA. Targeting cancer metabolism through a ubiquinone uncompetitive inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I, (2022) Cell Chemical Biology, 29, 436-450.e15, 10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.11.002

3. Tian G, Hu Cheng, Yun Y, Yang W, Dubiel W, Cheng Y, Wolf DA. Dual roles of HSP70 chaperone HSPA1 in promoting quality control of nascent and newly synthesized proteins. (2021) EMBO J., e106183, 10.15252/embj.2020106183

4. Wang J, Dubiel D, Wu Y, Cheng Y, Wolf DA*, Dubiel W*.  CSN7B defines a variant COP9 signalosome complex with distinct function in DNA damage response. (2021) Cell Reports, 34: 108662, 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108662

5. Lin Y, Li F, Huang L, Polte C, Duan H, Fan J, Sun L, Xing X, Tian G, Cheng Y, Ignatova Z, Yang X, Wolf DA. eIF3 associates with 80S ribosomes to promote translation elongation, mitochondrial homeostasis, and muscle health. (2020) Molecular Cell 79, 1-13, 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.06.003

6. Shah M, Su D, Scheliga JS, Pluskal T, Boronat S, Shah M, Motamedchaboki K, Campos AR, Qi F, Yanagida M, Wolf DA. A transcript-specific eIF3 complex mediates global translational control of energy metabolism (2016), Cell Reports 16:1891-1902, 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.07.006