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Edwin CHAN Lab Other Related Link

Biography

Ho Yin Chan, Edwin holds B.Sc. degree in biochemistry from CUHK, and completed his PhD in genetics at University of Cambridge with Cahir J. O’Kane. Edwin’s graduate work focused on the genetic study of a RNA-binding protein gene in dribble, and discovered its role in regulating pre-ribosomal RNA processing. He received postdoctoral training at University of Pennsylvania. Since 1999, Edwin investigates pathogenic pathways of repeat expansion diseases, including spinocerebellar ataxias, Huntington’s Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and myotonic dystrophy, which belong to a group of rare neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases. In 2002. Edwin established his research program at CUHK. His group takes a multi-disciplinary approach to identity new disease loci, study disease pathogeneses, and develop therapeutics for these disorders. In 2012, his group reported the role of nucleolar stress in repeat expansion diseases. This finding opened up a new window for novel therapeutic development. In terms of technology transfer, Edwin currently holds 6 US patents. He co-founded his company Rare Power Limited in 2023. In 2024, Rare Power Limited was admitted to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks’ IncuBio Programme.

Edwin CHAN

Professor, School of Life Sciences

Research Interests

  • Functional studies of rare neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases
  • RNA-mediated neurodegenerative pathways in repeat expansion diseases
  • Therapeutic development for repeat expansion diseases
  • Identification of novel disease loci that cause spinocerebellar ataxias

Awards

  • 2014 Churchill College Visiting By-Fellowship, University of Cambridge, UK
  • 2011 Genetics Society of China Thirteenth Ju-Chi Li Animal Genetics Prize (第十三届李汝祺动物遗传学奖)
  • The 2009 Young Researcher Award, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • The 2009 Faculty Exemplary Teaching Award, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Selected publications

  1. Koon, A.C.#, Yeung, K.Y.W.#, Wu, Y., Leong, L.I, Cheung, J.T.P., Chen, Z.S., Peng, S.I., Armstrong, N.S., Frank, A.C., Magneron, P., Gomes-Pereira, M., Fung, J.M.S., Bargiela, A., Moreno, N., Poyatos, J., Vilchez, J., Vilchez, J., Huguet, A., Brewer, C.K., Zinter, M., Beck, E.S., Artero, R., Gourdon, G., Budnik, V., Thomson, T., McCabe, B.D. and Chan, H.Y.E.* (2026) Pre- and postsynaptic upregulation of FasII synergistically underlies neuropathological and behavioral phenotypes in a Drosophila model of myotonic dystrophy. Nat. Commun. 17(1):1005 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-67738-w

  1. Chen, Z.S., Peng, S.I., Leong, L.I, Gall-Duncan, T., Wong, N.S.J., Li, T.H., Lin, X., Wei, Y., Koon, A.C., Huang, J., Sun, J.K., Turner, C., Tippett, L., Curtis, M.A., Faull, R.L.M., Kwan, K.M., Chow, H.M., Ko, H., Chan, T.F., Pearson, C.E. and Chan, H.Y.E.* (2025) Mutant huntingtin induces neuronal apoptosis via derepressing the non-canonical poly(A) polymerase PAPD5. Nat. Commun. 16(1):3307 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58618-4

  1. Chen, Z.S., Ou, M., Taylor, S., Dafinca, R., Peng, S.I., Talbot, K.* and Chan, H.Y.E.* (2023) Mutant GGGGCC RNA prevents YY1 from binding to Fuzzy promoter which stimulate Wnt/b-catenin pathway in C9ALS/FTD. Nat. Commun. 14(1):8420 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44215-w

  1. An, Y., Chen, Z.S., Chan, H.Y.E.* and Ngo, J.C.K.* (2022) Molecular insights into the interaction of CAG trinucleotide RNA repeats with nucleolin and its implication in polyglutamine diseases. Nucl. Acids Res. 50(13), 7655-7668. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac532

  1. Peng, S.I., Leong, L.I., Sun, J.K., Chen, Z.S., Chow, H.M. and Chan, H.Y.E.* (2022) A peptide inhibitor that rescues polyglutamine-induced synaptic defects and cell death through suppressing RNA and protein toxicities. Mol. Ther. Nucleic Acids 29, 102-115. DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2022.06.004

  2. Peng, S., Guo, P., Lin, X., An, Y., Sze, K.H., Lau, M.H.Y., Chen, Z.S., Wang, Q., Li, W., Sun, J.K., Ma, S.Y., Chan, T.F., Lau, K.F., Ngo, J.C.K., Kwan, K.M., Wong, C.H., Lam, S.L., Zimmerman, S.C., Tuccinardi, T., Zuo, Z., Au Yeung, H.Y., Chow, H.M. and Chan, H.Y.E.* (2021) CAG RNAs induce DNA damage and apoptosis by silencing NUDT16 expression in polyglutamine degeneration. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 118(19) e2022940118 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022940118

  3. Zhang, Q., An, Y., Chen, Z.S., Koon, A.C., Lau, K.F., Ngo, J.C.* and Chan, H.Y.E.* (2019) A peptidylic inhibitor for neutralizing r(GGGGCC)exp-associated neurodegeneration in C9ORF72-associated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Mol. Ther. Nucleic Acids 16, 172-185. DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2019.02.015

  4. Chen, Z.S., Li, L., Peng, S., Chen, F.M., Zhang, Q., An, Y., Lin, X., Li, W., Chan, T.F., Lau, K.F., Ngo, J.C., Wong, W.T., Kwan, K.M. and Chan, H.Y.E.* (2018) Planar cell polarity gene Fuz triggers apoptosis in neurodegenerative diseases. EMBO Rep. 19, e45419 DOI: 10.15252/embr.201745409

  5. Tsoi, H., Yu, A.C., Chen, Z.S., Ng, N.K., Chan, A.Y., Yuen, L.Y., Abrigo, J.M., Tsang, S.Y., Tsui, S.K., Tong, T.M., Lo, I.F., Lam, S.T., Mok, V.C, Wong, L.K., Ngo, C.K., Lau, K.F., Chan, T.F.* and Chan, H.Y.E.* (2014) A novel missense mutation in CCDC88C activates the JNK pathway and causes a dominant form of spinocerebellar ataxia. J. Med. Genet. 51, 590-595. DOI: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2014-102333

  6. Tsoi, H., Lau, C.K., Tsang, S.Y., Lau, K.F. and Chan, H.Y.E.* (2012) CAG expansion induces nucleolar stress in polyglutamine diseases. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 109, 13428-13433. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1204089109

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