It was a great privilege to receive the Sontag Distinguished Scientist Award, which is the most prestigious award for young faculty in the brain tumor field. I especially appreciate the Foundation's ability to foster a family-like environment, in which we can not only learn inspiring science from each other, but also support each other during our career development."

About DSA-Funded Research

Research in the Hu Laboratory focuses on stem cells and glial biology in the central nervous system (CNS), particularly under the context of glioma and neurodegenerative diseases. Substantial evidence has revealed a population of neural stem cell (NSC)-like glioma stem cells (GSCs) that possess an inexhaustible ability to self-renew as the “root” of gliomas. The majority of the immune cells in malignant gliomas are glioma-associated myeloid (GAM) cells. Despite the promising therapeutic potential of GAM-cell modulation, little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying their suppressive conversion during the course of tumorigenesis. Demyelinating diseases/conditions are acquired disorders in which myelin and/or oligodendrocytes are injured. Their recent study of mature myelin maintenance led to surprising discoveries that mature myelin is a very dynamic material with rapid turnover of its lipid components. Currently they are trying to develop new approaches to restore lipid metabolism in demyelinating diseases/conditions.