Journal of Clinical Toxicology
Open Access

Donghai Xiong

Biography

Dr. Xiong graduated from Creighton University in 2007 with a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science. He has made Internationally recognized achievements in genetic studies of human complex diseases and complex traits and published 67 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious international journals, 2 book chapters published by world-famous scientific publishers - Humana Press and World Scientific and made 26 presentations in various international scientific meetings. He is the recipient of multiple honors for his research, such as Webster Jee Young Investigator Award. He has been on faculty at University of Missouri – Kansas City and Medical College of Wisconsin for the past several years. As the most prestigious expert in his field, he has been invited to review articles for the top ranked professional journals in the human genetics and disease research fields such as Human Molecular Genetics, Spine, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, International Journal of Obesity, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, BMC Genetics, and Journal of Musculoskeletal and Neuronal Interactions.

Research Interest

Exons are short, functionally important sequences of DNA which represent the regions in genes that are translated into protein. It is estimated that the protein coding regions of the human genome constitute about 85% of the disease-causing mutations. Exome sequencing has taken centre stage in cancer profiling. My primary research interest is to utilize this state-of-the-art technology to analyze multiple tumor-normal pairs to identify the genes underlying lung cancer. Currently we have finished whole exome sequencing and analysis of 14 samples taken from both the lung cancer tissue and the adjacent normal tissue from each of the seven lung cancer subjects. By comparing the genetic variants called from tumor and normal samples, we identified a pool of candidate genes associated with lung cancer. We are also collaborating with TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) to analyze additional 81 samples from 43 lung cancer patients using exome sequencing technology. The follow-up molecular validation of the identified genetic variants underlying lung cancer is also ongoing. Our aim is to find and confirm as many as possible the somatic mutations associated with lung cancer. I am particularly interested in developing and applying multiple statistical methods for the fast and robust identification of genetic mutations underlying human cancer.