Cungui Mao, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine at Stony Brook University's Renaissance School of Medicine within the Department of Medicine. His laboratory investigates sphingolipid metabolism with particular focus on alkaline ceramidases across multiple species including yeast, insects, and mammals. Dr. Mao earned his PhD from East China Normal University and Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, followed by postdoctoral training in Dr. Lina Obeid's laboratory at Duke University. His research has identified and cloned critical enzymes including yeast sphingosine-1-phosphate phosphatases (YSR2/YSR3), multiple alkaline ceramidases (YPC1, YDC1, DaCER1, Acer1-3, ACER1-3), demonstrating their roles in stress response, cell cycle regulation, longevity, and disease pathogenesis. Key discoveries show Acer2/ACER2 regulates tumorigenesis and placenta development while ACER3 mutations link to neurological disorders like spinocerebellar ataxia and leukodystrophy. Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals consistent focus on sphingolipid-mediated disease mechanisms, particularly in liver pathology, cancer progression, and neurological disorders. His work increasingly explores therapeutic targeting of ceramidases, with multiple 2025 publications demonstrating ACER3 inhibition as a strategy for cholestasis treatment and mitochondrial protection in liver injury. Dr. Mao's laboratory maintains active research across multiple disease models, with recent work expanding into immunometabolism (cGAS-STING activation in colon cancer), vector biology (Aedes aegypti lipid dynamics), and novel enzyme inhibition strategies. His long-term goal centers on developing sphingolipid-targeted interventions for cancer and age-related diseases based on deep mechanistic understanding of enzyme functions.
