Bin Tian

Bin Tian, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at The Wistar Institute and serves as Program Co-Leader of the Genome Regulation and Cell Signaling Program at the Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center. He is also the Director of the Center for Systems & Computational Biology. His research integrates molecular biology, computational genomics, and functional studies to understand RNA processing, particularly alternative polyadenylation (APA), and its roles in cancer and immunity.

His educational background includes a B.S. in Biochemistry from East China University of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (formerly UMDNJ). He completed postdoctoral training in bioinformatics and genomics at Johnson & Johnson before establishing his independent lab at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in 2003, where he became a tenured professor in 2014. He joined The Wistar Institute in 2020.

His research focuses on molecular systems biology of RNA, including functional genomics of cleavage and polyadenylation, regulation of gene expression through early transcriptional termination, spatial and temporal control of mRNA metabolism via alternative 3’UTRs, and cleavage and polyadenylation inhibition (CPAi) as a cancer therapeutic strategy. His lab has developed key bioinformatics resources like PolyA_DB, APAlyzer, and MAAPER.

His recent publications show a strong trend in dissecting APA mechanisms across physiological and pathological contexts, including cancer, neuronal function, and immune cell differentiation. The work combines high-throughput sequencing, single-cell analysis, and computational modeling to uncover how APA regulates mRNA stability, localization, and function.

He mentors a team of postdoctoral fellows, predocotoral trainees, and research assistants, contributing to training the next generation of scientists. His lab is actively pursuing novel therapeutics targeting mRNA 3’ end processing in cancer and immune disorders.