Mingqi Han, PHD
Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, Division of Diagnostic Imaging
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2017 | The University of Sydney (Children’s Medical Research Institute), NSW, AU, Medicine, Ph.D |
| 2012 | Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, CN, Bioscience, BS |
Postgraduate Training
| 2018-2023 | Postdoctoral Researcher, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA |
Experience & Service
Other Professional Positions
Project Scientist, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 2024 - 2025
Honors & Awards
| 2024 - Present | Keystone Symposia Future of Science Fund Scholarship |
| 2024 - Present | Montreal Clinical Research Institute Early-Career Scientist Seminar Series Award |
| 2023 - Present | UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Poster Award |
| 2017 - Present | The University of Sydney Postgraduate Research Travel Award |
| 2014 - 2017 | Kids Cancer Alliance Postgraduate Research Grant |
| 2013 - 2017 | Children’s Medical Research Institute Ph.D. Scholarship |
| 2012 | First Prize, Biological Experiment Skill Competition |
| 2012 | Best Undergraduate Thesis |
| 2010 - Present | Individual Scholarship |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Regional Presentations
- 2023. LKB1 regulates mitochondrial networks and bioenergetics spatially and temporally in lung cancer. Poster. Mechanisms and Models of Cancer. San Diego, California, US.
- 2022. 3-dimensional in vivo imaging of lung tumors reveal compartmentalization of mitochondrial metabolism. Poster. Keystone Cancer Metabolism. Keystone, Utah, US.
- 2019. Imaging structural and functional mitochondrial heterogeneity in lung cancer. Poster. Mechanisms and Models of Cancer. San Diego, California, US.
- 2019. Uncovering Lkb1-Orchesterated Tumor-Suppressive Process using Latent Restoration In Vivo. Poster. Mechanisms and Models of Cancer. San Diego, California, US.
International Presentations
- 2016. Development of automated high-content microscopy-assisted assays for telomere biology. Poster. Queenstown Research Week, Cancer Biology (Current Tools and Resources for Cancer). Nelson, NZ.
- 2016. Strategies for treating cancers that utilize alternative lengthening of telomeres. Invited. Telomerase and Disease EMBO conference. Liege, BE.
- 2015. Vulnerability of ATRX-negative ALT cells to infection by a cytolytic virus. Poster. Telomeric Chromatin and Telomere Fragility, SG.
- 2014. Vulnerability of ATRX-negative ALT cells to infection by a cytolytic virus. Poster. Australian Cell Cycle and DNA repair Meeting. Sydney, AU.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2025 - 2030 |
| Title: | Therapeutic Targeting of Intercellular Organelle Communication and Tumor-Immune Metabolic Crosstalk in Lipid Droplet-Enriched Cancers |
| Funding Source: | CPRIT |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | RR250075 |
| Date: | 2024 - Present |
| Title: | Exploring Metabolic Dynamics and Organelle Communication in NSCLC for Therapeutic Intervention |
| Funding Source: | NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | K22 Career Transition Award NCI |
| Date: | 2016 - 2022 |
| Title: | Imaging mitochondrial heterogeneity in LKB1 mutant lung cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Key |
| ID: | R01 NIH/NCI CA2086422-01 |
| Date: | 2008 - 2017 |
| Title: | Exploiting ATRX deficiency in Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres Mechanism for Synthetic Lethality |
| Funding Source: | Kids Cancer Alliance |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | Kids Cancer Alliance Postgraduate Research Grant |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Varuzhanyan G, Chen CC, Freeland J, He T, Tran W, Song K, Wang L, Cheng D, Xu S, Dibernardo GA, Esedebe FN, Bhatia V, Han M, Abt ER, Park JW, Memarzadeh S, Shackelford DB, Lee JK, Graeber TG, Shirihai OS, Witte ON. PGC-1alpha drives small cell neuroendocrine cancer progression toward an ASCL1-expressing subtype with increased mitochondrial capacity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121(49):e2416882121, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39589879.
- Long D Jr, Chan M, Han M, Kamdar Z, Ma RK, Tsai PY, Francisco AB, Barrow J, Shackelford DB, Yarchoan M, McBride MJ, Orre LM, Vacanti NM, Gujral TS, Sethupathy P. Proteo-metabolomics and patient tumor slice experiments point to amino acid centrality for rewired mitochondria in fibrolamellar carcinoma. Cell Rep Med 5(9):101699, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39208801.
- Han M, Shirihai OS, Shackelford DB. Mitochondrial inter-organellar contact sites present novel opportunities for tumor classification, diagnosis and treatment. Trends in Cell Biology. e-Pub 2024.
- Wu K, Vaughan A, Bossowski J, Nakamura M, Hao Y, Ziogou A, Han M, Nakamura T, Mancini M, Rajalingam S, Chung S, Shackelford DB, Conrad M, Papagiannakopoulos T. Targeting FSP1 triggers ferroptosis in lung cancer. Nature. e-Pub 2024.
- Han M, Bushong EA, Segawa M, Tiard A, Wong A, Brady MR, Momcilovic M, Wolf DM, Zhang R, Petcherski A, Madany M, Xu S, Lee JT, Poyurovsky MV, Olszewski K, Holloway T, Gomez A, John MS, Dubinett SM, Koehler CM, Shirihai OS, Stiles L, Lisberg A, Soatto S, Sadeghi S, Ellisman MH, Shackelford DB. Spatial mapping of mitochondrial networks and bioenergetics in lung cancer. Nature 615(7953):712-719, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36922590.
- Murray CW, Brady JJ, Han M, Cai H, Tsai MK, Pierce SE, Cheng R, Demeter J, Feldser DM, Jackson PK, Shackelford DB, Winslow MM. LKB1 drives stasis and C/EBP-mediated reprogramming to an alveolar type II fate in lung cancer. Nat Commun 13(1):1090, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35228570.
- Han M, Napier CE, Frolich S, Teber E, Wong T, Noble JR, Choi EHY, Everett RD, Cesare AJ, Reddel RR. Synthetic lethality of cytolytic HSV-1 in cancer cells with ATRX and PML deficiency. J Cell Sci 132(5), 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30745338.
- Han M, Cessna H, Murray C, Ngo J, Petcherski A, Nadres B, Zhu Y, Zhang R, Collins J, Montales K, Xu S, Lisberg A, Stiles L, Bushong EA, Dubinett SM, Koehler CM, Ellisman MH, Shirihai OS, Reuben S, Winslow M, Shackelford DB. LKB1 regulates mitochondrial networks and bioenergetics spatially and temporally in lung cancer.
- Han M, Wu Y, Lao D, Tiard A, Zhang R, Bushong EA, Ellisman MH, Shackelford DB, Soatto S. Scalable convolutional neuronal network automates segmentation of cellular organelles.
Other Articles
- Shackelford DB, Han M Diversity of mitochondrial networks in lung cancer mapped. Nature Research Briefing, 2023.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2025