Chuan He, John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Chemistry, is an expert in the field of RNA modification biology and cancer epigenetics.

He was the first to champion the idea that modifications to RNA are reversible and can control gene expression. His work is foundational to developing potential therapies that target RNA methylation effectors against human diseases such as cancer.

He’s team also was the first to identify eraser proteins, which can undo changes made to RNA molecules, which sparked the emergence of epitranscriptome research. Additionally, they have explained how RNA methylation functions through characterizing reader proteins—processes known to play critical roles in many types of cancer, including endometrial cancer, acute myelogenous leukemia, and glioblastoma.