QIZE WEI

Qize Wei Associate Professor

Department of Biological Sciences Fordham University 441 East Fordham Road 160 Larkin Hall Bronx, NY 10458

Phone: 718-817-3641 Fax: 718-817-3645 qwei3@fordham.edu

Education & Training

MD, Youjiang Medical College, China, 1984
MS, Biochemistry, Guangxi Medical University, China, 1988
PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Peking Union Medical College, China, 1994
Research Associate, Division of Neurogerontology, Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, 1994-1997
Research Associate, Laboratory of Molecular Cardiology, NHLBI, NIH, 1997-2004
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Kansas State University, 2004-2012

Research Interests

Cell division and cell migration are critical biological processes that are ultimately regulated by the microtubule and/or actomyosin cytoskeleton. Dysregulation of these biological processes is often associated with cancer development and progression as well as with developmental defects in humans. Our lab is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms that modulate the organization of the microtubule and actomyosin cytoskeleton. Currently, we are using knockout mice and cultured mammalian cells as model systems to investigate: 1) how MyoGEF, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, regulates cytokinesis and breast cancer cell invasion; 2) how CCDC69, a coiled-coil protein, contributes to the regulation of microtubule stabilization and central spindle assembly; and 3) how Pitx2, a homeodomain transcription factor that is involved in left-right patterning during embryonic development, is implicated in cytoskeletal regulation and cancer development. A combination of molecular, cellular, and biochemical approaches is used in our research.

Students who are interested in working in the lab should feel free to contact me at qwei3@fordham.edu.

Selected Publications

Yang F, Wei Q, Adelstein RS, Wang PJ., Non-muscle myosin IIB is essential for cytokinesis during male meiotic cell divisions. Dev Biol. 369:356-61, 2012.

Pal D, Wu D, Haruta A, and Wei Q, Role of a novel coiled-coil domain-containing protein CCDC69 in regulating central spindle assembly, Cell Cycle 9:4117-29, 2010.

Wu D, Haruta A, and Wei Q, GIPC1 interacts with MyoGEF and promotes MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell invasion. J Biol Chem 285:28643–28650, 2010.

Ma X, Takeda K, Singh A, Yu ZX, Zerfas P, Blount A, Liu C, Towbin JA, Schneider MD, Adelstein RS, and Wei Q, Conditional Ablation of Nonmuscle Myosin II-B in Mice Delineates Brain and Heart Defects. Circulation Research 105:1102-9, 2009.

Wu D, Asiedu M, and Wei Q, MyoGEF regulates the invasion activity of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells through activation of RhoA and RhoC. Oncogene 4;28:2219-30, 2009.

Asiedu M, Wu D, Matsumura F, and Wei Q, Centrosome/spindle pole-associated protein (CSPP) regulates cytokinesis via promoting the recruitment of MyoGEF to the central spindle. Mol Biol Cell 20:1428-1440, 2009

Asiedu M, Wu D, Matsumura F, and Wei Q, Phosphorylation of MyoGEF on Thr-574 by Plk1 promotes MyoGEF localization to the central spindle. J Biol Chem, 283:28392-28400, 2008.

Wu D, Asiedu M, Adelstein RS and Wei Q, A novel guanine nucleotide exchange factor, MyoGEF, is required for cytokinesis. Cell Cycle 5:1234-9, 2006.

Wei Q, Pitx2a binds to human papillomavirus type 18 E6 protein and inhibits E6-mediated p53 degradation in HeLa cells. J Biol Chem 280:37790-7, 2005.

Wei Q and Adelstein RS, Pitx2a expression alters the actin-myosin cytoskeleton and migration of HeLa cells through Rho GTPase signaling. Mol Biol Cell 13:683–697, 2002.