Our People
Biography
Linda (Shen) Gu obtained her bachelor’s degree with full scholarship at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and received her Ph.D. degree from the School of Biomedical Sciences (SBS) at CUHK. She then pursued postdoc training at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in the United States with Prof. Jim Lupski to investigate the generation mechanisms of complex chromosomal rearrangements. Subsequently, she was selected into the highly competitive American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomic (ABMGG) fellowship program at BCM. Graduating from the three-year fellowship training, she was certified in both clinical molecular genetics and cytogenetics by ABMGG. In late 2019, she returned to SBS as an independent investigator. Her lab is interested in exploring the genetic causes, clinical consequences, and personalized therapies for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Linda GU
Assistant Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences
Assistant Professor (by courtesy), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Research Interests
- Identify novel disease-causing genes through genome-wide sequencing in patients.
- Functionally characterize novel disease genes and deleterious variants using stem cell and animal studies.
- Develop personalized therapeutics and gene therapies tailored to individual patients.
Awards
- 13th International Congress of Human Genetics Travel Award (2016)
- American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Charles J. Epstein Trainee Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Research – Semi-finalist (2015)
- ASHG Charles J. Epstein Trainee Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Research – Finalist (2014)
- Outstanding Postdoctoral / Student Award, Association of Chinese Geneticists in America (2015, 2014, 2010)
Selected publications
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- Yiliyaer N, Li X, Guo T, Zhou H, Gong L, Yuan L, Fu Y, Qiao Y, Lui YL, Chen N, Lin P, Cheung HH, Ko H, Meng L, Chen X, Lei Y, Kwan KM, Wang H, Gu S*. Pathogenicity of Mediator Complex Subunit 27 (MED27) in a Neurodevelopmental Disorder with Cerebellar Atrophy. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2025 Sep 29:e05535.
- Li X, Yiliyaer N, Guo T, Zhao H, Lei Y*, Gu S*. The indispensable role of Mediator complex subunit 27 during neurodevelopment. Cell BioSci. 2025 Jun 16;15(1):83.
- Calame DG, Guo T, Wang C, Garrett L, Jolly A, Dawood M, Kurolap A, Henig NZ, Fatih JM, Herman I, Du H, Mitani T, Becker L, Rathkolb B, Gerlini R, Seisenberger C, Marschall S, Hunter JV, Gerard A, Heidlebaugh A, Challman T, Spillmann RC, Jhangiani SN, Coban-Akdemir Z, Lalani S, Liu L, Revah-Politi A, Iglesias A, Guzman E, Baugh E, Boddaert N, Rondeau S, Ormieres C, Barcia G, Tan QKG, Thiffault I, Pastinen T, Sheikh K, Biliciler S, Mei D, Melani F, Shashi V, Yaron Y, Steele M, Wakeling E, Østergaard E, Nazaryan-Petersen L; Undiagnosed Diseases Network; Millan F, Santiago-Sim T, Thevenon J, Bruel AL, Thauvin-Robinet C, Popp D, Platzer K, Gawlinski P, Wiszniewski W, Marafi D, Pehlivan D, Posey JE, Gibbs RA, Gailus-Durner V, Guerrini R, Fuchs H, Hrabě de Angelis M, Hölter SM, Cheung HH, Gu S*, Lupski JR*. Monoallelic variation in DHX9, the gene encoding the DExH-box helicase DHX9, underlies neurodevelopment disorders and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Am J Hum Genet. 2023 Aug 3;110(8):1394-1413.
- Ho NJ, Chen X, Lei Y*, Gu S*. Decoding hereditary spastic paraplegia pathogenicity through transcriptomic profiling. Zool Res. 2023 May 18;44(3):650-662.
- Zhu W, Wang C, Mullapudi N, Cao Y, Li L, Lo IFM, Tsui SK, Chen X, Lei Y, Gu S*. A robust pipeline for ranking carrier frequencies of autosomal recessive and X-linked Mendelian disorders. NPJ Genom Med. 2022 Dec 19;7(1):72
