Dr. Xiang-Dong received his BS degree in Virology from Wuhan University, China in 1982, PhD degree in Biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in 1988 (via the CUSBEA program), and postdoctoral training at Harvard from 1988 to 1992. Dr. Fu joined the faculty of University of California, San Diego since 1992 as Assistant Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (1992-1998) and was promoted to Associate Professor (1998-2002), Full Professor (2002-2018), and Distinguished Professor (2018-2022). Dr. Fu joined Westlake University as RNA Biology and Regenerative Medicine Chair Professor in January 2023.

2020

Falling Walls Berlin for the Science Breakthroughs

2016

the Ray Wu Society Lifetime Achievement Award

2010

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow

2003

Distinguished Alumnus of Wuhan University

1997

the Leukemia, Lymphoma Society Scholar

1994

Searle Scholar

Dr. Fu was responsible for co-discovery of SR proteins, a family of RNA binding proteins involved in constitutive and alternative pre-mRNA processing. His laboratory also discovered a family of kinases specific for SR proteins and demonstrated that these kinases are critical for transducing external and intracellular signals to regulate alternative splicing in the nucleus. Dr. Fu’s research has been centered on understanding the functions of coding and non-coding RNAs in development and disease. His laboratory has also invented multiple technologies for high throughput analysis of gene expression, mRNA isoforms, and genomic interactions. One of their latest breakthroughs is the development of a new cellular reprogramming strategy to generate functional neurons from non-neuronal cells and the application of this approach to reverse the disease phenotype in a Parkinson’s disease model. In his newly established laboratory at Westlake University, he will continue to follow the fields of RNA biology and regenerative medicine and use a battery of molecular biology, biochemical, molecular genetics, functional genomics, animal behavioral, and electrophysical approaches to pursue mechanistic understanding of specific diseases and develop therapeutic strategies. Dr. Fu welcome talented and motivated postdocs and students to join force in addressing some fundamental questions in RNA biology and regenerative medicine and in translating basic science discoveries into novel disease intervention strategies.

1. Qian, H., Kang, X.J., Hu, J., Zhang, D., Liang, Z., Meng, F., Zhang X., Xue, Y., Maion, R., Dowdy, S. F., Devaraj, N., Zhou, Z., Mobley, W. C., Cleveland, D. W., and Fu, X-D. (2020). Reversing a model of Parkinson’s disease with in situ converted nigral neurons. Nature 582:550-556.

2. Gou, L-T., Lim, D-H^.,Ma, W., Aubol, B. E., Hao, Y., Wang, X., Zhao, J., Liang, Z., Shao, C., Zhang, X., Li, H., Zhang, X., Xu, R., Li, D., Rosenfeld, M. G., Mellon, P. L., Adams, J. A., Liu, M-F., and Fu, X-D. (2020). Initiation of parental genome reprogramming in fertilized oocyte by splicing kinase SRPK1-catalyzed protamine phosphorylation. Cell 180:1212-1227.

3. Chen, L., Chen, J-Y., Huang, Y-J., Gu, Y., Qiu, J., Shao, C., Zhang, X., Hu, J., Li, H., He., S., Zhou, Y., Zhang, D-E., and Fu, X-D. (2018). The augmented R-loop is a unifying mechanism for Myelodyplastic Syndromes induced by high risk splicing factor mutations. Mol Cell 69:412-425. 

4. Zhang, X., Zuo, X., Yang, B., Li, Z., Xue, Y., Zhou, Y., Huang, J., Zhao, X., Zhou, J., Yan, Y., Zhang, H., Guo, P., Sun, H., Guo, L., Zhang, Y., and Fu, X-D. (2014).  microRNA directly enhances mitochondrial translation during muscle differentiation. Cell 158:607-619.  

5. Xue, Y-C., Ouyang, K., Huang, J., Zhou, Y., Ouyang, H., Li, H., Wang, G., Wu, Q., Wei, C., Bi, Y., Jiang, L., Cai, Z., Sun, H., Zhang, K., Zhang, Y., Chen, J., and Fu, X-D. (2013) Direct conversion of fibroblasts to neurons by reprogramming PTB-regulated microRNA circuits. Cell 152:82-96.  

6. Wang^,D., Garcia-Bassets, I., Benner, C., Li, W., Su. X., Zhou, Y., Qiu, J., Liu, W., Kaikkonen, M. U., Ohgi, K.A. Glass, C. K., Rosenfeld, M. G., and Fu, X-D. (2011). Reprogramming transcription via distinct classes of enhancers functionally defined by eRNA. Nature 474:390-394.

7. Xu, X., Yang, D., Ding, J-H., Wang, W., Chu, P-H., Dalton, N. D., Wang, H-Y., Bermingham, Jr., J. R., Ye, Z., Liu, F., Rosenfeld, M. G., Manley, J. L., Ross Jr. J., Chen, J., Xiao, R-P., Cheng, H., and Fu, X-D. (2005). ASF/SF2-regulated postnatal reprogramming of CaMKIId alternative splicing modulates excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac muscle. Cell 120:59-72.

8. Gui, J-F., Lane, W. S., and Fu, X-D. (1994). A serine kinase regulates the intracellular localization of splicing factors during the cell cycle. Nature 369:678-682.

9. Fu, X-D. (1993). Specific commitment of different pre-mRNAs to splicing by single SR proteins. Nature 365:82-85.

10. Fu, X-D. and Maniatis, T. (1990). Factor required for mammalian spliceosome assembly is localized to discrete regions in the nucleus. Nature 343:437-441.