Prof. Tom Cheung received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2006. He then completed his postdoctoral training in Prof. Thomas Rando’s laboratory at Stanford University School of Medicine. In 2013, he joined the Division of Life Science at HKUST. Currently, he is the S H Ho Associate Professor of Life Science. He is also the Director of the Biotechnology Research Institute, the Director of the HKUST-Nan Fung Life Sciences Joint Laboratory, the Director of the HKUST-MGI Joint Research Center (formerly HKUST-BGI Joint Research Center), the Associate Director of the Biosciences Central Research Facility, and the Associate Director of the HKUST-Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Joint Research Center for Brain Science. He is also the Assistant Center Director of the Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Research Question

Molecular mechanisms of stem cell quiescence and activation

Adult stem cells have the unique ability to produce differentiated daughter cells as well as replenish the stem pool through the process of self-renewal. In the absence of stimulus, subsets of mammalian adult stem cells can reside in the quiescent state for prolonged periods of time. Importantly, disruption of quiescence was shown to result in the depletion of the stem cell pool. Satellite cells are adult muscle stem cells that are primarily quiescent in resting muscle and that represent an excellent model to study stem cell quiescence. The main areas of interest of the laboratory are to specify the molecular pathways that control stem cell quiescence and stem cell-mediated tissue regeneration. Using both in vitro and in vivo approaches, we are also interested in getting a better understanding of adult stem cell function in the context of tissue regeneration, disease and aging.

Representative Publications

1. Yue L, Wan R, Luan S, Zeng W, Cheung TH. Dek Modulates Global Intron Retention during Muscle Stem Cells Quiescence Exit. Developmental Cell. 2020 Jun 22;53(6):661-676.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.05.006.
2. Giordani L, He GJ, Negroni E, Sakai H, Law JYC, Siu MM, Wan R, Corneau A, Tajbakhsh S, Cheung TH*, Le Grand F*. (Co-corresponding) High-Dimensional Single-Cell Cartography Reveals Novel Skeletal Muscle-Resident Cell Populations. Molecular Cell. 2019 May 2;74(3):609-621.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.02.026.
3. Mueller AA, van Velthoven CT, Fukumoto KD, Cheung TH and Rando TA. Intronic Polyadenylation of PDGFRa in resident stem cells attenuates muscle fibrosis. Nature. 2016 Nov 28. doi: 10.1038/nature20160.
4. Cheung TH, Rando TA.  Molecular regulation of stem cell quiescence. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2013 Jun;14(6):329-40. doi: 10.1038/nrm3591.
5. Cheung TH, Quach NL, Charville GW, Liu L, Park L, Edalati A, Yoo B, Hoang P, Rando TA. Maintenance of muscle stem-cell quiescence by microRNA-489. Nature. 2012 Feb 23;482(7386):524-8. doi: 10.1038/nature10834.

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