【TITLE & POSITION】Professor

【ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS】 Guest editor or reviewer of over 60 SCI journals including Science, Nature Communications, etc. Members of Society for Investigative Dermatology, North American Hair Research Society, etc.

【CONTACT INFORMATION】E-mail: mingxing@cqu.edu.cn

【PERSONAL PROFILE】

Dr. Mingxing Lei graduated from Chongqing University (Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, Dec 2014). After the completion of joint postdoctoral research at Chongqing University and University of Southern California with Dr. Li Yang and Dr. Cheng-Ming Chuong, he joined Chongqing University (May 2020) to carry out teaching/research work. He has held 8 Projects supported National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Chongqing Talents Program etc. He has published over 40 papers in journals such as Science, Cell, PNAS, etc. Several papers were selected as cover articles of journals, or highlighted by media such as CNBC. Current courses taught by Dr. Mingxing include Academic Norms and Paper Writing, Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, etc.

【RESEARCH INTERESTS】

1. Self-organization and skin organoid formation. The transformation process from the dissociated multipotent stem or progenitor cells into an organized tissue is a poorly understood and yet fundamental issue in regenerative medicine. We have set up a skin organoid model to analyze the underlying molecular process in detail. This can help us identify molecules that favor hair formation, which will further improve clinical application and treatment of patients with alopecia.

2. Control of hair cycling. The hair cycle transition is strictly regulated by the intrinsic and extrinsic molecular environment. We study the molecular mechanism by which how catagen–telogen-anagen transition is regulated.

3. Skin wound healing and dermatology. Thousands of people suffer from skin injuries and diseases and even lose their lives without proper healing due to a failure of its barrier function. We develop methodologies and therapeutics for treating skin wound and diseases.

【REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS】

1. Lei M, Chuong CM. STEM CELLS. Aging, alopecia, and stem cells. Science. 2016; 351: 559-60.

2. Lei M, Schumacher LJ, Lai YC, Juan WT, Yeh CY, Wu P, Jiang TX, Baker RE, Widelitz RB, Yang L, Chuong CM. Self-organization process in newborn skin organoid formation inspires strategy to restore hair regeneration of adult cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017; 114: E7101-E10.

3. Lei M, Yang L, Chuong CM. Getting to the Core of the Dermal Papilla. J Invest Dermatol. 2017; 137: 2250-3.

4. Lei M, Chuong CM. Epidermal Darwinism and Competitive Equilibrium within the Epidermis. Cell Stem Cell. 2018;23(5):627-629.

5. Bai X, Lei M*, Shi J, Yu Y, Qiu W, Lai X, Liu Y, Yang T, Yang L, Widelitz RB, Chuong CM, Lian X*. Roles of GasderminA3 in Catagen-Telogen Transition During Hair Cycling. J Invest Dermatol (IF: 7.14). 2015; 135: 2162-72. (*Co-corresponding author).

6. Chang WL, …Lei M, …Chuong CM*. The Making of a Flight Feather: Bio-architectural Principles and Adaptation. Cell. 2019; 179:1409-1423. Cover paper.