Dandan He, PhD

Dr. He is a Laboratory Geneticist whose clinical interests focus on the diagnosis and characterization of genetic disorders. She combines molecular and cytogenetic approaches to help identify genetic changes that contribute to disease and provide information to guide patient care. She is also interested in applying emerging genomic technologies to improve diagnostic testing.

Her research background includes RNA splicing, disease gene discovery and studies of how genetic variants affect gene function. In addition to her clinical work, she contributes to fellow and resident education through laboratory teaching and case-based discussions.

Personal Statement

I believe that behind every laboratory sample is a child and a family seeking answers. My approach centers on careful analysis, thoughtful interpretation and clear communication with the clinical team. I strive to understand genetic findings in the context of each child’s medical history, recognizing both what testing can tell us and where uncertainty remains. Through collaboration and continued advances in genomic testing, my goal is to help families better understand their child’s condition and provide meaningful information to guide care.

Education

Organizations

* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.

Research interests

Understanding the genetic basis of disease, discovering disease-associated genes and how genetic changes affect their function, advancing genomic approaches to improve diagnosis and guide patient care

Zheng C, Wei Y, Zhang P, Lin K, Dandan He, Teng H, Manyam G, Zhang Z, Liu W, Lee H, Tang X, He W, Islam N, Jain A, Chiu Y, Cao S, Diao Y, Meyer-Gauen S, Hook M, Malovannaya A, Li W, Hu M, Wang W, Xu H, Kopetz S, Chen Y. CRISPR–Cas9-based functional interrogation of unconventional translatome reveals human cancer dependency on cryptic non-canonical open reading frames. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 2023; 30, 1878–1892

Zhang P*, Dandan He*,Xu Y, Hou J, Pan B, Wang Y, Liu T, Davis C, Ehli E, Tan L, Zhou F, Hu J, Yu Y, Chen X, Nguyen T, Rosen J, Hawke D, Ji Z, Chen Y. Genome-wide identification and differential analysis of translational initiation. Nature Communications. 2017; 8:1749. [*Co-first author]

Wang L, Dong F, Reinach PS, Dandan He, Zhao X, Chen X, Hu DN, Yan D. MicroRNA-182 Suppresses HGF/SF-Induced Increases in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cell Proliferation and Migration through Targeting c-Met. PLoS One. 2016; 11 (12): e0167684

Wang Y, Hou J, Dandan He, Sun M, Zhang P, Yu Y, Chen Y. The emerging function and mechanism of ceRNAs in Cancer. Trends in Genetics. 2016; 32 (4): 211-224

Akagi K, Li J, Broutian R. T., Padilla-Nashf H, Xiao W, Jiang B, Rocco J.W., Teknosi T.N., Kumari B, Wangsaf D, Dandan He, Riedf T, Symer D.E., Gillison M.L.. Genome-wide analysis of HPV integration in human cancers reveals recurrent, focal genomic instability. Genome Research. 2014: 24 (2):185-199

Chen X*, Dandan He*, Dong XD, Dong F, Wang J, Wang L, Tang J, Hu DN, Yan D, Tu L. MicroRNA-124a is epigenetically regulated and acts as a tumor suppressor by controlling multiple targets in uveal melanoma. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 2013; 54(3): 2248-2256. [*Co-first author]

Yan D*, Dandan He*, He S*, Chen X, Fan Z, et al. Identification and Analysis of Intermediate Size Noncoding RNAs in the Human Fetal Brain. PLoS One. 2011; 6(7):e21652 [ *Co-first author]