Dr. Chen researches signal transduction mechanisms that underlie cellular and developmental processes in mammals using experimental approaches such as molecular biology, biochemistry, and mouse genetics. Her research with the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a signaling network that senses availability of nutrients and other environmental cues, advances understanding of cellular regulation. Rapamycin, an inhibitor for mTOR is an anti-cancer drug, and her research with it will help improve future therapeutic strategies. She has also shown in her research that phosphatidic acid and phospholipase D pathways are a regulator of mTOR. She has also identified mTOR2 signaling as a potential anti-cancer target through research. Her other areas of research include skeletal muscle regeneration and lipid-protein interactions.
Jie Chen, PhD, received her BS in Biology from Peking University in China and her PhD in Biochemistry from Rice University. She completed her postdoctoral training at Harvard University. She is currently a Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and a Professor of Biomedical and Translational Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also an Affiliate at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and a mentor for the CCIL TiMe program.