Chia-Nung Hung, PhD

• Professional Background

  Education

  • 2020 - PhD - Life Science - Tunghai University
  • 2008 - MS - Life Science - Tunghai University
  • 2002 - BS - Biology - Tunghai University

  Training

  • 2020 - Postdoc Fellow - Cancer Biology - University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX

  Appointments

  • 3/2024 - Assistant Professor/Research - UT Health San Antonio

• Research & Grants

  My research integrates experimental and computational multi-omics approaches to investigate AXL-STAT3 signaling in immune-cancer cell interactions and to identify tumor hybrid cells (THCs) within tumor microenvironments. I have expanded my work to include spatial-omics analysis, enabling deeper insights into the spatial organization and protein/gene expression profiles in tumor microenvironments. Early findings suggest that macrophages may enhance cancer stemness and contribute to drug resistance in tumor cells, with some macrophages fusing with tumor cells to facilitate metastasis. Spatial-omics provides a novel perspective on tumor microenvironments, revealing critical mechanisms driving drug resistance in immune and tumor cells.

  Grants

  Pilot Grants Program of the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence

• Publications

  1. Chou CW*, Hung CN*, Chiu CH*, Tan X, Chen M,Chen CC, Saeed M, Hsu CW, Liss MA, Wang CM, Lai Z, Alvarez N, Osmulski PA, Gaczynska ME, Lin LL, Ortega V, Kirma NB, Xu K, Liu Z, Kumar AP,Taverna JA, Velagaleti GVN, Chen CL, Zhang Z, Huang TH. Phagocytosis-initiated tumor hybrid cells acquire a c-Myc-mediated quasi-polarization state for immunoevasion and distant dissemination. Nat Commun. 2023 Oct 17;14(1):6569. PMCID: PMC10582093. (*Co-first authors)
  2. Hung CN, Chen M,DeArmond DT, Chiu CH, Limboy CA, Tan X, Kusi M, Chou CW, Lin LL, Zhang Z, Wang CM, Chen CL, Mitsuya K, Osmulski PA, Gaczynska ME, Kirma NB, Vadlamudi RK, Gibbons DL, Warner S, Brenner AJ, Mahadevan D, Michalek JE, Huang TH, Taverna JA. AXL-initiated paracrine activation of pSTAT3 enhances mesenchymal and vasculogenic supportive features of tumor-associated macrophages. Cell Rep. 2023 Sep 26;42(9):113067. PMCID:PMC10577802.
  3. Taverna JA*, Hung CN*,DeArmond DT, Chen M, Lin CL, Osmulski PA, Gaczynska ME, Wang CM, Lucio ND, Chou CW, Chen CL, Nazarullah A, Lampkin SR, Qiu L, Bearss DJ, Warner S, Whatcott CJ, Mouritsen L, Wade M, Weitman S, Mesa RA, Kirma NB, Chao WT, Huang TH. Single-cell proteomic profiling identifies combined AXL and JAK1 inhibition as a novel therapeutic strategy for lung cancer. Cancer Res. 2020 Apr 1;80(7):1551-1563. PMCID: PMC7127959. (*Co-first authors)