Eric Chang

Dr. Eric Chang is a Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, with primary appointments in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center. He leads the Eric Chang Lab which focuses on signal transduction cross-talk between RAS and the estrogen receptor in breast cancer. Dr. Chang teaches graduate-level courses including cell signaling, mitosis, leadership skills, and Tumor Technology and Therapy.

• Ph.D. from State University Of New York At Buffalo (1989)
• Advanced Training from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1992)
• B.S. from National Taiwan University (1981)

Dr. Chang's research centers on understanding the cross-talk between RAS signaling pathways and the estrogen receptor in breast cancer development, treatment resistance, and metastasis. His lab has made significant discoveries regarding how NF1 functions as a dual repressor for both RAS and ER, and how NRAS drives the progression of basal-like breast tumors. These findings have direct clinical implications, with one of their combination therapies entering a Phase-II clinical trial (NCT05554354) through the NCI ComboMATCH program.

The research trends in Dr. Chang's publications reveal a consistent focus on RAS signaling pathways and their role in cancer biology, particularly breast cancer. His work spans from fundamental molecular mechanisms in model organisms like fission yeast to clinical applications in human breast cancer. A key theme across his publications is the compartmentalization of signaling pathways and how spatial organization of proteins like RAS affects their function in normal and cancerous cells.

• Medical Scientist Training Program Faculty Operating Committee (2007-Present)
• Steering and admission committee of the SMART Program (2010-Present)
• Executive, Steering, and Curriculum committees of the Cancer Cell Biology Graduate Program (2019-Present)

Dr. Chang supervises multiple graduate students across Molecular and Cell Biology and Cancer Cell Biology programs. He actively participates in organizing data review sessions, journal clubs, and trainee retreats at the Breast Center, fostering a collaborative research environment.

The Chang Lab consists of a diverse team including Research Technician II Hilda G Kennedy, Graduate Student Zifan Zhao, Instructor Zeyi Zheng, and non-BCM Student Observer Elias Awad, working collaboratively to advance research in breast cancer signaling pathways.