Haodong Chen Ph.D.
Associate Professor
1999 – 2003 B.S., School of Life Sciences, Peking University
2003 – 2008 Ph.D., School of Life Sciences, Peking University
2004 - 2006 Visiting student, National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing
2006 – 2008 Exchange student, MCDB, Yale University
2008 – 2010 Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Life Sciences, Peking University
2010 – 2020 Associate Investigator, School of Life Sciences, Peking University
2020 - 2023 Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University
2023 - Present Associate Professor, Principal Investigator, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University
2020 – Present Principal Investigator, Tsinghua-Peking Centre for Life Sciences
● Research interest：
Gravity is an ever-present environmental factor that regulates the growth direction and architecture of individual plants. From the evolutionary perspective, acquiring the capability to sense and respond to gravity dramatically expanded the living space of plants. How plants sense and respond to gravity is a fundamental question in biology, which has attracted scientific investigation for centuries. Our laboratory comprehensively utilizes plant materials such as Physcomitrium patens, Arabidopsis thaliana, and soybean to investigate the mechanisms of gravity sensing and signal transduction in plants, and is committed to applying these mechanisms to agricultural production practices. We are particularly interested in: (1) The molecular mechanism of gravity sensing; (2) The molecular mechanism of the determination of gravitropic orientation; (3) Regulatory mechanisms and applications of aboveground plant architecture and root system architecture. These studies will benefit the improvement of plant traits on Earth and even plant breeding in space, promoting agricultural innovation and ecological construction.
● Selected publications：
1. Niu, Y., Chen, S., Deng, Z., Du, J., Zhou, Y., Fan, N., Zhou, D., Niu, Y., Yang, Y., An, L., Chen, S., Xiang, Y., Chen, H.*, Qian, D.* (2025). Arabidopsis Kinesins KCH3 and KCH7 Promote Root Gravitropism through Actin Bundling in the Stele. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 122, e2517012122.
2. Wang, X., Yuan, Y., Charrier, L., Deng, Z., Geisler, M.*, Deng, X.W.*, Chen, H.*. (2024). Light-stabilized GIL1 suppresses PIN3 activity to inhibit hypocotyl gravitropism. J Integr Plant Biol 66, 1886-1897.
3. Chen, J., Yu, R., Li, N., Deng, Z., Zhang, X., Zhao, Y., Qu, C., Yuan, Y., Pan, Z., Zhou, Y., Li, K., Wang, J., Chen, Z., Wang, X., Wang, X., He, S.-N., Dong, J., Deng, X.W., and Chen, H.* (2023). Amyloplast sedimentation repolarizes LAZYs to achieve gravity sensing in plants. Cell 186, 4788-4802.
4. Li, Y., Deng, Z., Kamisugi, Y., Chen, Z., Wang, J., Han, X., Wei, Y., He, H., Terzaghi, W., Cove, D.J., Cuming, A.C., Chen, H.* (2021). A minus-end directed kinesin motor directs gravitropism in Physcomitrella patens. Nat Commun 12, 4470.
5. Wang, X., Yu, R., Wang, J., Lin, Z., Deng, Z., He, H., Fan, L., Deng, X.W., and Chen, H.* (2020). The asymmetric expression of SAUR genes mediated by ARF7/19 promotes the gravitropism and phototropism of plant hypocotyls. Cell Rep 31, 107529.
6. Yang, P., Wen, Q., Yu, R., Han, X., Deng, X.W.*, and Chen, H.* (2020). Light modulates the gravitropic responses through organ-specific PIFs and HY5 regulation of LAZY4 expression in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 117, 18840-18848
7. Dong, J., Sun, N., Yang, J., Deng, Z., Lan, J., Qin, G., He, H., Deng, X.W., Irish V.F., Chen, H.,* and Wei, N.* (2019). TCP4 and PIF3 antagonistically regulate organ-specific light induction of SAUR16/50 to modulate cotyledon opening during de-etiolation in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 31, 1155-1170.
8. Dong, J., Ni, W., Yu, R., Deng, X.W., Chen, H.,* and Wei, N. (2017). Light-dependent degradation of PIF3 by SCFEBF1/2promotes a photomorphogenic response in Arabidopsis. Curr Biol 27, 2420-2430.
9. Sun, N., Wang, J., Gao, Z., Dong, J., He, H., Terzaghi, W., Wei, N., Deng, X.W.,* and Chen, H.* (2016). Arabidopsis SAURs are critical for differential light regulation of the development of various organs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113, 6071-6076.
10. Li, K., Yu, R., Fan, L.M., Wei, N., Chen, H.,* and Deng, X.W.* (2016). DELLA-mediated PIF degradation contributes to coordination of light and gibberellin signalling in Arabidopsis. Nat Commun 7, 11868.
11. Li, K., Gao, Z., He, H., Terzaghi, W., Fan, L.M., Deng, X.W.,* and Chen, H.* (2015). Arabidopsis DET1 represses photomorphogenesis in part by negatively regulating DELLA protein abundance in darkness. Mol Plant 8, 622-630.
12. Dong, J., Tang, D., Gao, Z., Yu, R., Li, K., He, H., Terzaghi, W., Deng, X.W., and Chen, H.* (2014). Arabidopsis DE-ETIOLATED1 represses photomorphogenesis by positively regulating phytochrome-interacting factors in the dark. Plant Cell 26, 3630-3645.
（* Corresponding author）
● Award：
Rising Stars in Plant Sciences（2024）
Top 10 Annual Research Highlights of Tsinghua University Most Noted by Faculty and Students (2023)
Annual Research Breakthrough Award of the School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University (2023)
Green Leaf Distinguished Young Scholars Award, Peking University (2016)
Excellent Postdoctoral Fellow, Peking University (2010)
Excellent Ph.D. Graduate Student, Peking University (2008)
● Contact information：
E-mail: chenhaodong@tsinghua.edu.cn
Tel: 86-10-62790868 (Office); 86-10-62793033 (Lab)
Address (Office): Room 3-112, Biotech Building, Tsinghua University
Address (Lab): Rooms 3-105 and 3-110, Biotech Building, Tsinghua University
