Ping Mu

Ping Mu is an Associate Professor with tenure in both the Department of Urology and Department of Pathology at Yale School of Medicine and a member of the Yale Cancer Center. His academic journey began with a BS in Biotechnology from Peking University (2007), followed by a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Weill Medical College of Cornell University (2013), and postdoctoral training under Dr. Charles L. Sawyers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In mid-2018, he established his independent laboratory at UT Southwestern as an assistant professor, where his research excellence led to rapid promotion to tenured associate professor before moving to Yale.

Dr. Mu's research focuses on uncovering the molecular mechanisms driving resistance to targeted and immune therapies in prostate and other cancers. His lab pursues three exciting research directions: 1) Mechanisms of Therapy Resistance and Tumor Evolution, particularly lineage plasticity, epigenetic rewiring, and mutagenesis; 2) Tumor Microenvironment, Immune Modulation, and Spatial Heterogeneity; and 3) Translational Platforms: AI-Driven Precision Medicine and Patient-Derived Organoids. His work employs state-of-the-art techniques including 3D-cultured organoids, single-cell sequencing, and spatial transcriptomics.

Dr. Mu's recent publications show a strong focus on lineage plasticity, epigenetic regulation, and therapy resistance mechanisms in prostate cancer. His high-impact work has been featured in top-tier journals including Science (2017), Cancer Cell (2020, 2023), Cancer Discovery (2024), Nature Cancer (2022), and Nature Genetics (2015), demonstrating a consistent trajectory of significant contributions to the field of cancer research.

Selected Scientific Awards:

• NIH R37 MERIT Award (2021)
• NIH R01 Research Award (2024)
• AACR NextGen Stars Award (2020)
• Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award
• Welch Foundation Research Award

Dr. Mu maintains an active research program with multiple NIH and DoD-funded projects. His lab has pioneered important discoveries regarding lineage plasticity mechanisms and novel therapeutic approaches to overcome therapy resistance. The Mu Lab actively collaborates with other researchers at Yale Cancer Center and beyond, contributing to the vibrant research ecosystem at Yale. The lab is particularly known for its work with 3D-cultured organoids and spatial transcriptomics to model therapy resistance in prostate cancer.