Jingwei Cheng

Jingwei Cheng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences at the University of New Hampshire's College of Life Sciences and Agriculture. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of DNA tumor viruses, particularly polyomaviruses, and their roles in cancer development. Specifically, his work investigates how Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) contributes to Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) through interactions with tumor suppressors like p53 and RB, and the epigenetic regulation of transcriptional complexes.

Cheng completed his B.S. in Biotechnology at Peking University and earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His lab explores viral oncogenesis, MYC-driven cancers, and the interplay between transcriptional activation (via the SLaP complex) and repression (via PRC1.6) in neuroendocrine tumors. He also studies RNA methylation and splicing regulation in cancer cells with MYC overexpression.

Cheng's research has identified druggable targets such as PRMT5 and the Tip60-p400 complex, aiming to develop therapies targeting MYC-driven cancers. His work bridges virology and cancer biology, with implications for neuroendocrine tumors like MCC and small cell lung cancer. He teaches courses on virology and cancer biochemistry and mentors students in molecular oncology research.

His recent publications focus on viral mechanisms of immune evasion, molecular markers in MCC subtypes, and the therapeutic potential of targeting viral and epigenetic pathways. Cheng collaborates on genome-scale CRISPR screens and omics technologies to uncover cancer dependencies.