Xin Gu

Xin Gu, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School and Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She leads the Gu Lab, focusing on ubiquitin-independent protein degradation mechanisms. Her research explores the midnolin-proteasome pathway's role in regulating transcription factors and cellular physiology.

Dr. Gu earned her BS in Biology from Peking University and her PhD in Biology from MIT. Her postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School's Department of Neurobiology earned prestigious awards including the Damon Runyon fellowship and David H. Hubel award.

Her lab investigates how cells degrade transcription factors without ubiquitination, using biochemical, structural, and genetic approaches. Key projects include developing animal models to study midnolin's role in brain function, immunity, and cancer. She also seeks novel ubiquitin-independent degradation pathways and their interplay with chromatin biology and metabolism.

Recent research highlights include discoveries about midnolin's degradation of transcription factors like EGR1 and STAT3, and the structural basis of mTORC1 nutrient sensing. Her work bridges basic cell biology with translational applications in disease.

Awards:

• Damon Runyon postdoctoral fellowship (Harvard Medical School)
• David H. Hubel outstanding postdoctoral fellow award (HMS Neurobiology)
• Aramont Fellowship Fund for Emerging Science Research (HMS)

Research Themes: Protein degradation mechanisms, ubiquitin-independent pathways, transcription factor regulation, cancer biology, neurobiology, metabolic signaling.