Leran Chen

Research Assistant at Columbia University Irving Medical Center

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Curriculum Vitae

Portrait of Leran Chen

About

I am currently a Research Assistant working in Dr. Acharyya's lab at the Institute for Cancer Genetics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, focusing on tumor metastasis—especially brain metastases in HER2-positive breast cancer and EGFR-mutant lung cancer.

Previously, I received my Master degree in Biotechnology Program at Columbia University (2024), advised by Dr. Swarnali Acharyya and Dr. Anup K. Biswas on cancer metastasis and microenvironmental signaling. Prior to that, I received my Honors Bachelor degree in Biology from Beijing Normal University (2023), where I conducted research under Dr. Erli Pang in cancer genomics and with Dr. Dong Yang in enzyme engineering.

My research focus lies at the interface of metastasis biology and translational therapeutics: building and applying immunocompetent in vivo models of brain metastasis; dissecting tumor–microenvironment signaling that drives colonization, persistence, and drug resistance; and leveraging functional genomics (e.g., CRISPR-based perturbation) alongside patient-linked analyses to identify actionable targets.

I am applying to PhD programs in cancer biology for Fall 2026 entry. Please feel free to reach out if you are interested in my research.

Research Experience

Brain Metastases in Breast Cancer

Research Assistant (Full-time); Advisor: Dr. Swarnali Acharyya (Columbia University); May 2024 – Present.

  • Generated and validated an immunocompetent model for studying brain metastasis and immune interactions in HER2+ breast cancer.
  • Developed model for studying tucatinib (HER2-therapy) resistance in vivo.
  • Interrogated clinical association between mediator genes of brain metastasis.

Mechanisms of Inflammatory Signaling in EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer Brain Metastasis

Master’s Thesis; Co-Advisors: Dr. Anup K. Biswas and Dr. Swarnali Acharyya (Columbia University); Mar – Aug 2024.

  • Investigated paracrine interactions between cancer cells and brain microenvironment that promote brain metastasis in EGFR-mutant lung cancer.
  • Identified novel mediators of brain metastasis using CRISPR-mediated suppression and functional studies combining mouse models and patient sample analysis.

Analysis of Enhancer Mutation in the LUSC and LUAD Genome

Research Assistant (Undergraduate); Advisor: Dr. Erli Pang (Beijing Normal University); Sep 2022 – May 2023.

  • Integrated somatic-mutation calls with enhancer regulatory maps and built a reproducible Python workflow to profile enhancer-SNP dysregulation in LUAD and LUSC.
  • Quantified enhancer mutational burden and pinpointed recurrently mutated enhancers, revealing shared and subtype-specific oncogenic circuits via GO & pathway enrichment.

Active Site Plasticity and Product Selectivity of the S-Limonene Synthase

Research Assistant (Undergraduate); Advisor: Dr. Dong Yang (Beijing Normal University); Nov 2020 – Aug 2022.

  • Investigated active-site plasticity of S-limonene synthase by site-directed mutagenesis.
  • Verified that product selectivity is determined by the polarity of active pockets.

Publications

A new, immunocompetent brain-metastatic mouse model of HER2-positive breast cancer

Chen L, Chow A, Ma W, Coker C, Gu Y, Canoll P, Kandpal M, Hibshoosh H, Biswas AK, Acharyya S. A new, immunocompetent brain-metastatic mouse model of HER2-positive breast cancer. Clin Exp Metastasis. 2025 Apr 12;42(3):25. doi: 10.1007/s10585-025-10343-4. PMID: 40220135.

Talks

[Invited Talk] Marina Kaplan Project Symposium on CNS Metastasis
Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBC Alliance), Sep 2025.

[Poster Presentation] A new, immunocompetent brain-metastatic mouse model of HER2-positive breast cancer
Department of Pathology & Cell Biology Research Retreat, Columbia University, Dec 2024.

Awards

  • Gold Medalist, International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition, 2021.
  • First-Class Competition Scholarship, Beijing Normal University, 2021.
  • Merit Student, Beijing Normal University (Top 5%), 2020.
  • First-Class Scholarship, Beijing Normal University (Top 10%), 2020.
  • First Prize, Beijing University Students' Biology Knowledge Contest (Top 10%), 2020.

Teaching

  • Jun 2024 – Present: Research Mentor at Dr. Acharyya’s Lab, Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
  • Summer 2022: Teacher (Volunteer) for Biology (High School Course) at Shenzhen Longhua Senior High School.
  • Fall 2021: Teaching Assistant for Organic Chemistry (Undergraduate Course) at Beijing Normal University.

Laboratory Skills

  • Computational: Python, R, GraphPad Prism, QuPath, SnapGene, BLAST/Database Search, Illustrator, Photoshop.
  • Instruments: Microtome (FFPE sectioning), Vibratome (fresh/fixed brain slices), AMI in-vivo bioluminescence imaging system, fluorescent microscope.
  • Mouse Experiment: Injections (intracardiac/subcutaneous/intraperitoneal), oral gavage, blood & tissue collection, metastatic cancer cell isolation & culture, in-vivo drug treatment.
  • Wet Laboratory: Mouse & human cell culture, transfection, CRISPRi & RNAi knock-down, immunoprecipitation, Western blot, H&E/IHC (mouse & human), ELISA, proliferation/viability assays, qRT-PCR, DNA cloning, bacterial transformation.
  • Languages: Mandarin (Native), Cantonese (Native), English (GRE 326; TOEFL 111).