LuQ.LeMDPhD

Summary

• Dr. Le is a physician scientist and Kenneth E. Greer, M.D. Endowed Professor and Chair of Dermatology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. degree in Immunology and Molecular Genetics, and a medical degree (M.D.) from the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He completed an Internship in Internal Medicine at UCLA/St. Mary Medical Center, residency training in Dermatology and a postdoctoral research fellowship in Cancer Biology from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is board certified by the American Board of Dermatology. As a principal investigator in cancer biology, his research bridges the fields of Cancer Biology, Developmental Biology, and Stem Cell Biology that focuses on neural-crest derived tissue development, regeneration and tumorigenesis, in particular the biology of neurofibromatosis. Dr. Le’s laboratory investigates how tumor cell of origin and tumor microenvironment interplay to regulate NF1-associated tumorigenesis. A major contribution of Dr. Le’s laboratory is the generation and exploitation of different Neurofibromatosis models to decipher mechanisms that initiate neurofibroma development and drive their malignant transformation [Cancer Cell 26(5): 695-706; Cell Stem Cell 4(5):453-63; Cell, 152(5): 1077-1090; Cell Reports, 6(1): 81-92; Cancer Research, 74(2): 586-97]. In addition, it was this work in neurofibromatosis and mechanisms whereby neural-crest derived tissues and nerves can affect tumor development in skin and other tissues that serendipitously lead his group to uncover the identity of follicular epithelial cells that directly give rise to hair and mechanisms that cause hair to turn gray [Genes & Development. 31(8): 744-756] – findings that could one day help identify possible treatments for balding and hair graying.

Homepage - Le Lab at the University of Virginia School of Medicine
The Le Laboratory is composed of a core group of talented research scientists, postdoctoral fellows, students, and research associates. Our work bridges the fie