Randy Y.C. Poon is Chair Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. After receiving his first degree and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from St. Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge (with Sir Tim Hunt, FRS), Prof. Poon then conducted postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute (with Tony Hunter, FRS). Prof. Poon has made important contributions to the understanding of cell cycle control in normal and cancer cells. His research team is in particular interested to decipher how DNA damage and mitosis are choreographed in cells to ensure the stability of our genome.

Research Question

The molecular basis of cell cycle control in normal and cancer cells

The cell cycle is the sequence of events through which a cell duplicates its DNA, grows, and divides. As one of the most fundamental processes that define life, its precise regulation is critical for normal cell growth. Conversely, defective cell cycle control is responsible for the genome instability underlying most cancers. Recent interests of our group include the molecular mechanisms of mitosis, how cells cope with the various stresses that compromise genome stability (called checkpoints), as well as translational research of potential target proteins for anti-cancer therapies. We believe that understanding precisely how the cell cycle is regulated will help us to design novel therapeutic approaches to treat cancers.

Representative Publications

1.  Wang Y and Poon RYC(2023) MARCH5 regulates mitotic apoptosis through MCL1-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Cell Death & Differentiation 30: 753-65.
2. Lau HW, Ma HT, Yeung TK, Tam MY, Zheng D, Chu SK, and Poon RYC (2021) Quantitative differences between cyclin-dependent kinases underlie the unique functions of CDK1 in human cells. Cell Reports 37: 109808.
3. Lok TS, Wang Y, Xu WK, Xie S, Ma HT, and Poon RYC(2020) Mitotic slippage is determined by p31^comet and the weakening of the spindle-assembly checkpoint. Oncogene 39: 2819-34.
4. Ma HT and Poon RYC(2018) TRIP13 functions in the establishment of the spindle-assembly checkpoint by replenishing O-MAD2. Cell Reports 22: 1439-50.
5. Ma HT and Poon RYC(2016) TRIP13 regulates both the activation and inactivation of the spindle-assembly checkpoint. Cell Reports 14: 1086-99.

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