Fang Yu, Ph.D.
Epigenetics
Protein post-translational modifications (PTMs)
Assistant Research Professor, Department of Systems Biology
Fang Yu, Ph.D. joined the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope® as an assistant research professor in the Department of Systems Biology in July 2025. Prior to this, he was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Zhijian Qian’s laboratory in the Department of Medicine at the University of Florida after relocating with Dr. Qian from the University of Illinois in Chicago, where he had also served as a postdoctoral fellow. In January 2023, he was promoted to research assistant professor at the University of Florida.
Dr. Yu earned his Ph.D. from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University in Shanghai, China. He subsequently pursued his postdoctoral training with Dr. Zhijian Qian at the University of Illinois and later at the University of Florida. In January 2023, he was promoted to research assistant professor in Dr. Qian’s laboratory at the University of Florida.
Dr. Yu has received numerous awards and honors, including the Chinese National Endeavor Fellowship (2009), the Chinese National Scholarship (2010), the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Cultivation Award from East China Normal University (2015), and the Cold Spring Harbor Asia Epigenetics Fellowship Award (2015). In addition, Dr. Yu serves as a reviewer for multiple journals, including Molecular Cancer, Molecular Therapy, Drug Resistance Updates, MedComm, Aging, and Journal of Cancer, among others.
Location
Duarte Cancer Center
Duarte, CA 91010
Education & Experience
Degrees
- 2012-2017 Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- 2008-2012 B.S. in Biological Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, China
Professional Experience
- 2025-Present, Assistant Research Professor, Department of Systems Biology, City of Hope, CA
- 2023-2025, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Florida, FL
- 2018-2022, Postdoctoral Fellow Position, Department of Medicine, University of Florida, FL
- 2018-2018, Postdoctoral Fellow Position, Department of Hematology & Oncology, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
Research
Dr. Yu’s research has primarily focused on epigenetics and protein post-translational modifications (PTMs), particularly protein SUMOylation and its role in transcriptional regulation during his Ph.D. studies. He was the first to elucidate how the pluripotent transcription factor MYC and SUMO oppositely regulate cellular transcription by controlling RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) promoter-proximal pausing release. This regulation plays critical roles in T cell activation and cardiac hypertrophy, and his related discoveries were published in Cell Research (2018).
After joining Dr. Zhijian Qian’s laboratory, Dr. Yu shifted his research toward elucidating the basic mechanisms of RNA m⁶A demethylation and its roles in tumorigenesis, drug resistance, and leukemogenesis. He made significant contributions to understanding the regulation of ALKBH5 m⁶A demethylase activity, demonstrating that it can be modulated by protein PTMs (including phosphorylation and SUMOylation) and the oncogene KRAS, as well as the RNA-binding protein RBM33. His work revealed that the regulation of ALKBH5 activity is highly sophisticated and multilayered, and that dysregulated ALKBH5 activity is closely associated with genomic instability, head and neck cancer tumorigenesis, and lung cancer drug resistance.
Under the guidance of Dr. Qian, Dr. Yu has published several high-impact papers in recent years, including in Molecular Cell (2023), Nucleic Acids Research (2021), Haematologica (2022), The Journal of Clinical Investigation (2023, 2024, 2025), and Star Protocols (2024), serving as first author or co-first author on these publications.
Publications
- Yu F, shikan zheng, Qian Z*, et al. KRAS mutants confer platinum resistance by regulating ALKBH5 posttranslational modifications in lung cancer." The Journal of Clinical Investigation 135.6 (2025).
- Rukiye NAR, Zhixing Wu, Yafang Li, Alexis Smith, Yutao Zhang, Jue Wang, Yu F, Qian Z*, et al.Targeting METTL3 protein by proteolysis-targeting chimeras: A novel therapeutic approach for acute myeloid leukemia." Genes & Diseases 12.4 (2025): 101452.
- Qiong Wu, Chunjie Yu, Yu F, Qian Z*, et al. Evi1 governs Kdm6b-mediated histone demethylation to regulate the Laptm4b-driven mTOR pathway in hematopoietic progenitor cells." The Journal of Clinical Investigation 134.24 (2024). Co-first author
- Qian, Z, and Yu F. "GADD45A: a key tumor suppressor in AML subtypes." Blood 144.1 (2024): 6-7.
- Yu F, Liu S, Zhu A C Qian Z*, et al. Protocol for detecting RBM33-binding sites in HEK293T cells using PAR-CLIP-seq[J]. STAR protocols, 2024, 5(1): 102855.
- Yu C, Sheng Y, Yu, F, Qian Z* et al. Foxm1 haploinsufficiency drives clonal hematopoiesis and promotes a stress-related transition to hematologic malignancy in mice. [J]. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2023, 135(15): e163911.
- Yu F, Qian Z*. Mechanisms for regulation of RAS palmitoylation and plasma membrane trafficking in hematopoietic malignancies[J]. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2023, 133(12): e171104.
- Yu F, Zhu A C, Liu S, Qian Z*, et al. RBM33 is a unique m6A RNA-binding protein that regulates ALKBH5 demethylase activity and substrate selectivity[J]. Molecular Cell, 2023
- Guan Q, Chen Z, Yu F, Wong J*, et al. MYC promotes global transcription in part by controlling P-TEFb complex formation via DNA-binding independent inhibition of CDK9 SUMOylation[J]. Science China Life Sciences, 2023: 1-18.
- Staklinski S J, Chang M C, Yu F, et al. Cellular and molecular characterization of two novel asparagine synthetase gene mutations linked to Asparagine Synthetase Deficiency[J]. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2022, 298(9).
- Dang Q, Wu Q, Yu F, Qian Z* et al. m 6 A reader Ythdf3 protects hematopoietic stem cell integrity under stress by promoting the translation of Foxm1 and Asxl1 transcripts[J]. Haematologica, 2022. Co-first author
- Sheng Y, Wei J, Yu F, Qian Z* et al. A critical role of nuclear m6A reader YTHDC1 in leukemogenesis by regulating MCM complex–mediated DNA replication[J]. Blood, The Journal of the American Society of Hematology, 2021, 138(26): 2838-2852.
- Yu F, Wei J, Cui X, Qian Z* et al. Post-translational modification of RNA m6A demethylase ALKBH5 regulates ROS-induced DNA damage response[J]. Nucleic Acids Research, 2021, 49(10): 5779-5797.
- Peng Y, Wang Z, Wang Z, Yu F, Wong J* et al. SUMOylation down-regulates rDNA transcription by repressing expression of upstream-binding factor and proto-oncogene c-Myc[J]. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2019, 294(50): 19155-19166.
- Yu F, Shi G, Cheng S, Wong J* et al. SUMO suppresses and MYC amplifies transcription globally by regulating CDK9 sumoylation[J]. Cell Research, 2018, 28(6): 670-685.
- Shi G, Wu M, Fang L, Yu F, Wong J* et al. PHD finger protein 2 (PHF2) represses ribosomal RNA gene transcription by antagonizing PHF finger protein 8 (PHF8) and recruiting methyltransferase SUV39H1[J]. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2014, 289(43): 29691-29700.
- Li P, Gao S, Wang L, Yu F, Wong J* et al. ABH2 couples regulation of ribosomal DNA transcription with DNA alkylation repair[J]. Cell Reports, 2013, 4(4): 817-829.