Dr. Michael Shen

Biography

Michael M. Shen is a prominent researcher in the fields of genetics and urological sciences, currently serving as the Arthur J. Antenucci Professor at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Over the past twenty-seven years, his laboratory has focused on the fundamental mechanisms of mammalian development and cancer, utilizing in vivo analyses and genetically-engineered mouse organoid models. Shen started his lab at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 1994, where his group investigated the functional roles of EGF-CFC co-receptors and the TGF-beta ligand Nodal in establishing the mammalian body plan. Since moving to Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 2007, his research program has expanded to include hormonal regulation of prostate development and cancer, and the pathways of the Nkx3.1 transcriptional regulator in epithelial lineage specification and tissue regeneration. His work has identified essential roles for luminal epithelial progenitors in prostate cancer. Shen's lab has developed novel culture conditions for mouse and human prostate and bladder organoids, contributing significantly to translational studies of tumor evolution and drug resistance. Recent projects have focused on single-cell computational systems to understand epithelial differentiation, transdifferentiation in prostate cancer, and tumor plasticity in bladder cancer.

Research Interests

Experience