2007

Ph.D, Molecular Medicine, The University of Auckland, New Zealand

2001

B.Tech with First Class Honours, Biomedical science, The University of Auckland, 　New Zealand

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Cancer cells exhibit remarkable adaptability, using diverse mechanisms to resist therapy, evade immune surveillance, and repair damaged DNA. My laboratory is dedicated to dissecting these core survival strategies to develop next-generation precision oncology therapeutics. A central pillar of our research explores the regulatory interplay between the anti-apoptotic protein BIRC5/Survivin and Autophagy. Our findings reveal that autophagy is a double-edged sword. Under specific stress conditions, it triggers DNA damage and genomic instability, thereby driving tumor evolution and chemoresistance. In parallel, we are engineering novel IDO1-targeting agents designed to counteract tumor-induced immunosuppression and inhibit drug efflux pumps, thereby rearming the immune system and overcoming multidrug resistance. Ultimately, we integrate these mechanistic insights with cancer nanotechnology to construct nanomedicines that deliver targeted therapies directly to hard-to-treat malignancies.

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2026 - Elected Fellow, FIBMS (Institute of Biomedical Science, United Kingdom)

2025 - Excellent Mentor Award (The College of Medicine, NCKU)

2024 - Distinguished Teaching (EMI) Award (NCKU)

2023 - Elected Fellow, FRSB (The Royal Society of Biology, United Kingdom)

2023 - Professor Chen-Yuan Lee Memorial Outstanding Research Award

(The Pharmacological Society in Taiwan)

2023 - Excellent Research Paper Award (Cheng-Hsing Medical and Educational Foundation)

2022 - Distinguished Teaching (EMI) Award (NCKU)

2021 - Ta-You Wu Memorial Award

(National Science and Technology Research Council, Taiwan)

2020 - Excellent Mentor Award (The School of Medicine, NCKU)

2019 - Outstanding Teaching Award (NCKU)

2017 - Network Award (Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Korea)

2017 - Innovative Teaching Award (The College of Medicine, NCKU)

2016 - Excellent Research Paper Award (Cheng-Hsing Medical and Educational Foundation)

2016 - Distinguished Teaching Award (NCKU)

2015 - Innovative Teaching Award (The College of Medicine, NCKU)

2013 - Career Development Grant (CDG) Awardee

(National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan)

1. Chen PC, Chang YC, Ho YY, Tseng KY, Lin KH, Sari S, Özdemir Z, Reynisson J, Leung E, and Cheung CHA*; Discovery of a novel miconazole analogue as a dual apo-IDO1 inhibitor and ABCB1 modulator for cancer immunotherapy and chemosensitizing; European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences (2026) 224:107605

2. Chang YC, Huang WL, Su WC, Leung E, Cheng FY*, and Cheung CHA*; BIRC5 promoter-driven nanodrugs suppress BIRC5-positive cancers independent of ABCB1 status and IDO1 expression; International Journal of Nanomedicine (2026) 21:588571

3. Chang YC^#, Shieh MC^#, Chang YH, Huang WL, Su WC, Cheng YU*, and Cheung CHA*; Development of a cancer cells self-activating and microRNA miR-125a-5p expressing polypharmacological nanodrug for cancer treatment; International Journal of Molecular Medicine (2022) 50(2):102

4. Cheng SM, Lin TY, Chang YC, Lin IW, Leung E, and Cheung CHA*; YM155 and BIRC5 downregulation induce genomic instability via autophagy-mediated ROS production and inhibition in DNA repair; Pharmacological Research (2021) 166:105474

5. Lin TY, Chan HH, Chen SH, Sarvagalla S, Chen PS, Coumar MS, Cheng SM, Chang YC, Lin CH, Leung E, and Cheung CHA*; BIRC5/Survivin is a novel ATG12-ATG5 conjugate interactor and an autophagy-induced DNA damage suppressor in human cancer and mouse embryonic fibroblast cells; Autophagy (2020) 16(7):1296-1313

6. Cheng SM, Chang YC, Liu CY, Lee JYC, Chen HH, Kuo CW, Lin KY, Tsai SL, Chen SH, Li CF, Leung E, Kanwar JR, Huang CC, Chang JY, and Cheung CHA*; YM155 down-regulates Survivin and XIAP, modulates autophagy, and induces autophagy-dependent DNA damage in breast cancer cells; British Journal of Pharmacology (2015) 172(1):214-234 

7. Cheung CHA, Chen HH, Cheng LT, Lyu KW, Kanwar JR, and Chang JY*; Targeting Hsp90 with small molecule inhibitors induces the over-expression of the anti-apoptotic molecule, Survivin, in human A549, HONE-1 and HT-29 cancer cells; Molecular Cancer (2010) 9:77

8. Cheung CHA, Chen HH, Kuo CC, Chang CY, Coumar MS, Hsieh HP, and Chang JY*; Survivin counteracts the therapeutic effect of microtubule de-stabilizers by stabilizing tubulin polymers; Molecular Cancer (2009) 8:43