Leran Chen

PhD student at Columbia University Irving Medical Center

About

I am currently a first-year PhD student in the Vagelos Institute’s Biomedical Research Education (VIBRE) PhD Program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (2026–Present).

Previously, I was 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.

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.

Research Experience

Brain Metastases in Breast Cancer

Research Assistant (Full-time); Advisor: Dr. Swarnali Acharyya (Columbia University); May 2024 – May 2026.

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 – May 2026: 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).