Prof. Jiajie HOU

Education
PhD	University of Chicago, USA, 2015 Nanjing Medical University, China, 2015
MSc	Nanjing Medical University, China, 2012
BSc	Southeast University, China, 2009

Position
12/2022 – Present	Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China
10/2019 – 10/2022	Associate Professor & Attending Surgeon, Liver Cancer Program, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
03/2018 – 03/2019	Research Officer (Level 3), Cancer Immunotherapy Program, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia
08/2015 – 08/2019	Resident & Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Liver Surgery, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China

Research Interests

In the light of liver-specific or therapy-induced cues within the cancer microenvironment, our group focuses on the mechanistic study of adaptive cell signaling and consequent immunomodulation, which may impact clinical outcome and illuminate combination immunotherapy. Typically, we are looking at how therapy-induced inflammation adapts T cell signaling, to explore whether the underlying molecular traits can apply to tailoring T cell-based immunotherapy.

Representative Publications
Hou J, Karin M, Sun B. Targeting cancer-promoting inflammation – have anti-inflammatory therapies come of age? Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. 2021 May;18(5):261-279. doi: 10.1038/s41571-020-00459-9 Hou J, Zhang H, Sun B, Karin M. The immunobiology of hepatocellular carcinoma in humans and mice: basic concepts and therapeutic implications. Journal of Hepatology. 2020 Jan;72(1):167-182. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2019.08.014. Wang J, Hu B, Zhang He, Zhao Zhenjun, Zhao Zhicong, Zhang Haiyan, Ma X, Shen B, Sun B, Huang X, Hou J (co-corresponding), Xia Q. Intracellular XBP1-IL-24 axis dismantles CHOP-mediated cytotoxic unfolded protein response in the liver. Cell Death & Disease. 2020 Jan;11(1):17. doi: 10.1038/s41419-019-2209-6. Hou J (co-corresponding), Zhang He, Liu J, Zhao Zhenjun, Wang J, Lu Z, Hu B, Zhou J, Zhao Zhicong, Feng M, Zhang Haiyan, Shen B, Huang X, Sun B, He C, Xia Q. YTHDF2 reduction fuels inflammation and vascular abnormalization in hepatocellular carcinoma. Molecular Cancer 2019 Nov;18(1):163. doi: 10.1186/s12943-019-1082-3. Hou J, Greten T, Xia Q. Immunosuppressive cell death in cancer. Nature Reviews Immunology. 2017 Jun;17(6):401. doi: 10.1038/nri.2017.46. Hou J, Deng L, Zhuo H, Lin Z, Chen Y, Jiang R, Chen D, Zhang X, Huang X, Sun B. PTPROt maintains tumor immunity in the microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Journal of Molecular Cell Biology. 2015 Aug;7(4):338-50. doi: 10.1093/jmcb/mjv047. Hou J, Xia Y, Jiang R, Cheng D, Xu J, Deng L, Huang X, Wang X, Sun B. PTPRO plays a dual role in hepatic ischemia reperfusion injury through feedback activation of NF-κB. Journal of Hepatology. 2014 Feb;60(2):306-12. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2013.09.028. Chen C, Hou J (co-first author), Lin Z, Yao M, Jiang R, Wang Y, Gao Y, Shao Q, Deng L, Chen Y, Sun B. A bystander cell-based GM-CSF secreting vaccine synergizes with a low dose of cyclophosphamide and induces therapeutic immune responses against murine hepatocellular carcinoma. Cellular & Molecular Immunology. 2013 Jun;10(4):349-59. doi: 10.1038/cmi.2013.20. Hou J, Xu J, Jiang R, Wang Y, Chen C, Deng L, Huang X, Wang X, Sun B. Estrogen sensitive PTPRO expression represses hepatocellular carcinoma progression by control of STAT3. Hepatology. 2013 Feb;57(2):678-88. doi: 10.1002/hep.25980.
Full publications list

Research Grants
2023	Type II Grant of Ministry of Education Frontiers Science Centre for Precision Oncology, University of Macau (SP2023-00001-FSCPO), MOP 200,000
2022	Start-up Fund, University of Macau, MOP 1,800,000
2022	General Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China (82271881), CNY 520,000
2020	Guangdong Provincial Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (2021B1515020007), CNY 1,000,000
2019	Hundred Talent Program, Sun Yat-sen University (2019079), CNY 900,000
2018	General Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China (81871970), CNY 540,000
2016	Joint Program for Medicine and Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, CNY 120,000
2016	General Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China (81672801), CNY 630,000
2015	Dawn Program, Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (15CG13), CNY 60,000
2013	Youth Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China (81302106), CNY230,000

Professional Activities
Membership of the American Association for Cancer Research Membership of the Australasian Society for Immunology

Patents

Hou J, Zhang H. A new use of Sodium-glucose Cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor as a reagent for enhanced cancer immunotherapy. National Invention Patent of China (202211707300) Hou J, Yang Y, Chen Y, Sun B. Attenuated Listeria monocytogenes as a cancer vaccine vector for the delivery of CD24, a biomarker for hepatic cancer stem cells. National Invention Patent of China (201310598574) Sun B, Chen C, Hou J, Wang X. A nanoparticle-based GM-CSF slow-releasing vaccine against murine hepatocellular carcinoma. National Invention Patent of China (201210236543)

Awards
2020	Distinguished Young Scholars in Guangdong Province
2019	Hundred Talent Program in Sun Yat-sen University
2016	Excellent Resident in Renji Hospital
2015	Excellent Doctoral Thesis in Jiangsu Province
2015	Excellent Graduate of Nanjing Medical University
2014	Participant of the 64th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings (Germany)
2014	The University of Chicago Scholarship for Joint PhD Program (USA)
2014	National Scholarship for Excellent Postgraduates (China)
2013	National Scholarship for Excellent Postgraduates (China)
2012	Excellent Master Thesis in Jiangsu Province