Wei  Chen, M.S., Ph.D.

Wei Chen, M.S., Ph.D.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
wchen@dentistry.ucla.edu
Phone:
(310) 825-3307
Address:
UCLA School of Dentistry
10833 Le Conte Ave.
Box 951668
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1668
Office:  43-033 CHS

Biography

Dr. Wei Chen is an adjunct assistant professor in the Section of Endodontics, Division of Constitutive and Regenerative Sciences at the UCLA School of Dentistry.

Educational & Professional Background

  • B.S., Anhui Normal University, 1994

  • M.S., Zhejiang University, 1997

  • Ph.D., Institute of Radiation Medicine of Beijing, 2000

  • Postdoctoral Scholar, UCLA, 2012

Research & Interests

Dr. Chen’s research program is focused on oral mucosal diseases, including oral cancer, chemical- and radiation-induced oral mucositis, and aging-associated oral epithelial dysfunction.  These studies were based on extensive investigations of the mechanisms underlying cellular senescence (aging) and immortalization of normal human oral keratinocytes (NHOK).

Professional Memberships

  • Dental Research Institute, UCLA School of Dentistry

  • American Association for Cancer Research

  • American Dental Association

  • International Association for Dental Research

Representative Publications

  1. Chen W, Yi JK, Shimane T, Mehrazarin S, Lin YL, Shin KH, Kim RH, Park NH, Kang MK. Grainyhead-like 2 regulates epithelial plasticity and stemness in oral cancer cells. Carcinogenesis, 2016; 37(5): 500-10.

  2. Mehrazarin S*, Chen W*, Oh JE, Liu ZX, Kang KL, Yi JK, Kim RH, Shin KH, Park NH, Kang MK. The p63 Gene Is Regulated by Grainyhead-like 2 (GRHL2) through Reciprocal Feedback and Determines the Epithelial Phenotype in Human Keratinocytes. J Biol Chem, 2015; 290(32): 19999-20008. * equally contributed.

  3. Chen W, Xiao Liu Z, Oh JE, Shin KH, Kim RH, Jiang M, Park NH, Kang MK. Grainyhead-like 2 (GRHL2) inhibits keratinocyte differentiation through epigenetic mechanism. Cell Death Dis, 2012; 3: e450.

  4. Chen W, Dong Q, Shin KH, Kim RH, Oh JE, Park NH, Kang MK. Grainyhead-like 2 enhances the human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene expression by inhibiting DNA methylation at the 5'-CpG island in normal human keratinocytes. J Biol Chem. 2010; 285(52): 40852-63.

  5. Chen W, Fu X, Ge S, Sun T, Zhou G, Han B, Li H, Sheng Z. Profiling of genes differentially expressed in a rat of early and later gestational ages with high-density oligonucleotide DNA array. Wound Repair Regen, 2007, 15(1): 147-55. PMID: