Yuanshen Huang
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
I plan to pursue a career combining medical practice with scientific research focusing on cancer diagnosis and treatment. Pursuing graduate studies gives me the opportunity to learn how to conduct scientific research independently and creatively.
Why did you decide to study at UBC?
UBC is a natural choice for me for many reasons. There are two most important reasons: First, UBC has a rich tradition and an outstanding reputation as a leader in biomedical research; Second, Dr. Youwen Zhou presented a research talk on skin lymphomas in Peking University where I was studying clinical dermatology. As a result, I became interested in skin lymphoma research and decided to become a graduate student in his laboratory at UBC.
What was the best surprise about UBC or life in Vancouver?
I was pleasantly surprised that every bit of the academic excellence and natural beauty of UBC that I heard about actually turned out to be true! In addition, the cultural diversity made me feel right at home.
What advice do you have for new graduate students?
Being a graduate student at UBC is challenging and requires hard work. Stay passionate about your work and be open to challenges. However, do not forget to embrace the metropolitan city of Vancouver and the natural beauty of British Columbia. Meet new people and live life to the fullest in Vancouver!
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Learn more about Yuanshen's research
Our lab studies how cancer-specific genes cause the malignant behaviors of skin cancers such as skin lymphomas and melanomas. The ultimate goal is to use these molecules to develop better diagnostic methods and more effective therapies for these cancers. In particular, my project is centered on a molecule called TOX (thymocyte selection associated high mobility box) that we found to be abnormally switched on in the skin lymphoma cells. By turning off TOX in my experiments, markedly decreased growth rate and accelerated speed of cell death of the lymphoma cells were observed, suggesting that TOX plays a critical role in the development of skin lymphomas. My research objectives are: 1) To evaluate the potential of TOX as a biomarker for skin lymphomas, and 2) To understand how TOX leads to the malignant behaviors of skin lymphomas.