Peng Ji, MD, PhD
Photo: Peng Ji

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Elected 2021

Dr. Ji is a hematopathologist with research focus on hematopoiesis and myeloid neoplasms. He is the director of the pathology physician scientist training program and a founding member of the Starzl academy at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. His initial research interest in hematology started when he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute at MIT where he revealed a major function of Rac GTPases and their downstream target formin proteins in red cell enucleation. He continued the work on the functions of formin proteins in red cell development as an independent investigator at Northwestern University. His group demonstrated that mDia2, a family member of formin proteins, is critical for proteome remodeling and organelle clearance during the late stages of terminal erythropoiesis. They also found multiple functions of mDia formin proteins in hematopoiesis by revealing the role of mDia2 in the engraftment of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and how loss of mDia1 contributes to the pathogenesis of myelodysplastic syndromes. Another major finding from his group is the discovery of the nuclear opening and histone cytoplasmic release during terminal erythropoiesis that is critical for chromatin condensation and enucleation. His group also focuses on the functions of proteins that drive terminal proliferation and differentiation of erythroid cells. One of these proteins, named pleckstrin-2, was recently demonstrated by his group to be a downstream target of JAK-STAT5 pathway and mediate the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms. Dr. Ji's work is important for the understanding of the pathophysiology of myeloid related diseases. Many of his work have important translational impacts. In this effort, his team developed novel small molecule inhibitors of pleckstrin-2 to be used for the treatment of myeloproliferative neoplasms.