Positions

Assistant Professor of Surgery

David J. Sugarbaker Division of Thoracic Surgery
Baylor College of Medicine

Addresses

Margaret Alkek Biomedical Research Building1 Baylor Plaza (Lab)

1 Baylor Plaza
Houston, TX 77030
United States

Education

BSc from Inner Mongolia Normal University

Hohhot, China

Biotechnology,

PhD from Capital Normal University

Beijing, China

Genetics

Professional Statement

Guanxing Chen, Ph.D. is a molecular and cell biologist with more than 15 years of formal training in molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, and proteomics. He earned his Ph.D. in September 2015 with a thesis titled “Starch Synthesis Analysis Using Genetics, Proteomics, and Phosphoproteomics.” At the Beijing Vegetable Research Center, he independently designed and executed experiments using RNA-seq and iTRAQ to study protein–protein interaction networks. Seeking broader challenges, he joined Kansas State University in June 2016 as a postdoctoral fellow to investigate gene regulation in Parkinson’s disease, gaining expertise in yeast two-hybrid and genome-wide screens, spotting assays, cell culture, transfection, and co-immunoprecipitation. In April 2017, Chen moved to Dr. Cui’s lab at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, focusing on analgesic lipid molecules and morphine-induced apoptosis, while expanding his toolkit to flow cytometry, ChIP-seq, rodent primary cell culture, immunostaining, behavioral pain assays, and animal surgery. In March 2019, he joined Dr. Yan’s lab to identify and study auxiliary ion-channel proteins in vivo and in vitro, integrating mass-spectrometry proteomics, patch-clamp electrophysiology, structural analysis, and animal models. In August 2025, he became an assistant professor in Dr. Ramiro Fernandez’s lab, where he studies lung ischemia–reperfusion injury using RNA sequencing and metabolomics to discover therapeutic targets, developing complementary in vitro cell systems, mouse models, and human lung tissue platforms.

Selected Publications

• G Chen, Q Li, J Yan "Concatenated modular BK channel constructs reveal divergent stoichiometry in gating control by LRRC26 (γ1), pore, and selectivity Filter." eLife.;
• Q Li, G Chen, J Yan "Transmembrane determinants of voltage-gating differences between BK (Slo1) and Slo3 channels." Biophysical Journal.;
• L Li, Q Ru, Y Lu, A Saifullah, G Chen, A Saifullah, C Yao, K Tolias "Tiam1 coordinates synaptic structural and functional plasticity underpinning the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain." Neuron.;
• G Chen, Q Li, J Yan "BK channel modulation by the -subunit positively charged peptides via electrostatic interactions with the calcium-bowl site." Journal of General Physiology.;