Weiqiang (Javier) Chen, PhD
Assistant Staff
Email: [email protected]
Location: Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Research
Arthropod-borne viruses re-emerge globally to cause disease in humans, resulting in new, explosive epidemics. The Chen lab studies arboviral pathogenesis, with a focus on how viruses cause debilitating bone pathologies in humans by dysregulating bone biology and causing abnormal calcifications and inflammatory arthritis.
Biography
Javier’s research interest focuses on the molecular mechanisms of arboviral pathogenesis and immune responses of viral diseases that re-emerge to cause explosive outbreaks. These viruses include chikungunya virus, dengue and Zika virus. Javier has published in top tier scientific journals and made several significant findings on how viruses cause debilitating bone pathologies in humans by dysregulating bone biology and immunology.
Javier completed his PhD in the Institute for Glycomics at the Griffith University (2011-2015) on investigating the interplay between arthritogenic alphaviruses and inflammatory arthritis. During his PhD, Javier is the recipient of the Australian NHMRC Peter Doherty Early Career Fellowship in Biomedical Science (Declined). Javier spent 2016-2021 as Postdoctoral Research Fellow under Dr. Jae U Jung, where he is trained in both molecular biology and viral genetic analysis to study Zika virus (ZIKV)-induced craniofacial birth defects and pathogenesis.
In 2020, Javier received the Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from the National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIH NIDCR). Currently, he is appointed Assistant Staff in the Infection Biology Program, Global Center for Pathogens & Human Health Research, Cleveland Clinic.
Education & Professional Highlights
Education and Training
Research Associate - Cleveland Clinic
Cancer Biology
Cleveland, OH USA
2022
Postdoctoral Fellow - University of Southern California
Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Los Angeles, CA USA
2020
PhD in Medical Science - Griffith University
Institute for Glycomics
Gold Coast, QLD Australia
2015
Bachelor of Science (Honors) - University of Western Australia
Biomedical Science and Microbiology
Perth, WA Australia
2011
Diploma in Molecular Biotechnology - Nanyang Polytechnic Singapore
Singapore
2004
Honors and Awards
- Griffith University Deputy Vice Chancellor International Postgraduate Research Scholarship, 2011
- Australia NHMRC Peter Doherty Biomedical Science Early Career Fellowship, 2015 (Declined)
- NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00), NIH/NIDCR, 2020
- F. Merlin Bumpus Junior Investigator Award-First Place Winner, 2020
Research
Overview
Dr. Chen’s research is focused on viral-induced pathological calcifications, specifically the molecular mechanisms of how prenatal Zika virus (ZIKV) infection results in fetal brain calcification and cranial skull defects. A second arm of Dr. Chen’s research will be focused on defining how alphavirus infections, such as Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), lead to persistent inflammatory arthritis. The Chen lab will couple molecular virology and in vivo preclinical ZIKV and CHIKV models to dissect virus-host interactions and validate findings using patient-derived tissues through comprehensive analyses at proteomics and transcriptomics level. Dr. Chen’s research will reveal new insights to viral-induced bone pathogenesis and potential intervention strategies to treat viral-induced fetal defects and viral bone pathologies.
Our Team
Selected Publications
View publications for Weiqiang (Javier) Chen, PhD
(Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)
- Foo SS, Cambou MC, Mok T, Fajardo VM, Jung KL, Fuller T, Chen W, Kerin T, Mei J, Bhattacharya D, Choi Y, Wu X, Xia T, Shin WJ, Cranston J, Aldrovandi G, Tobin N, Contreras D, Ibarrondo FJ, Yang O, Yang S, Garner O, Cortado R, Bryson Y, Janzen C, Ghosh S, Devaskar S, Asilnejad B, Moreira ME, Vasconcelos Z, Soni PR, Gibson LC, Brasil P, Comhair SAA, Arumugaswami V, Erzurum SC, Rao R, Jung JU, Nielsen-Saines K. The systemic inflammatory landscape of COVID-19 in pregnancy: Extensive serum proteomic profiling of mother-infant dyads with in utero SARS-CoV-2. Cell Report Medicine. 2021 Nov 16;2(11):100453.
- Chen W, Foo SS, Hong E, Wu C, Lee W, Lee SA, Evseenko D, Moreira ME, Gracía-Sastre A, Cheng G, Nelsen-Saines K, Brasil P, Avvad-Portari E, Jung JU. Zika virus NS3 protease induces bone morphogenetic protein-dependent brain calcification in human fetuses. Nature Microbiology. 2021 Apr;6(4):455-466.
Featured in News & Views: Clements, RL, Jurado, KA. ZIKV actively induces calcification in the fetal brain. Nature Microbiology. 2021, 6, 417-418. - Brasil P, Vasconcelos Z, Kerin T, Gabaglia CR, Ribeiro IP, Bonaldo MC, Damasceno L, Pone MV, Pone S, Zin A, Tsui I, Adachi K, Pereira JP Jr, Gaw SL, Carvalho L, Cunha DC, Guida L, Rocha M, Cherry JD, Wang L, Aliyari S, Cheng G, Foo SS, Chen W, Jung J, Brickley E, Moreira MEL, Nielsen-Saines K. Zika virus vertical transmission in children with confirmed antenatal exposure. Nature Communications. 2020 Jul 14;11(1):3510.
- Pool KL, Adachi K, Karnezis S, Salamon N, Romero T, Nielsen-Saines K, Pone S, Boechat M, Aibe M, Gomes da Silva T, Ribeiro CTM, Boechat MI, Brasil P, Zin A, Tsui I, Gaw SL, Daltro P, Ribeiro BG, Fazecas T, Hygino da Cruz LC, Nogueira R, Vasconcelos Z, Pereira JP Jr, Saad Salles T, Barbosa CN, Chen W, Foo SS, Jung JU, Moreira ME, Pone M. Association Between Neonatal Neuroimaging and Clinical Outcomes in Zika-Exposed Infants from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. JAMA Network Open. 2019 Jul 3;2(7); e198124.
- Foo SS*^, Chen W*^, Chan Y, Lee WS, Lee SA, Cheng G, Nielsen-Saines K, Brasil P, Jung JU^. Biomarkers and immunoprofiles associated with fetal abnormalities of ZIKV-positive pregnancies. JCI Insight. 2018 Nov 2;3(21). (*Co-first authors; ^Co-corresponding authors)
Featured in JCI This Month - Editor’s Pick December 2018 - Foo SS, Chen W, Chan Y, Bowman JW, Chang LC, Choi Y, Yoo JS, Ge J, Cheng G, Bonnin A, Nielsen-Saines K, Brasil P, Jung JU. Asian Zika virus strains target CD14+ blood monocytes and induce M2-skewed immunosuppression during pregnancy. Nature Microbiology. 2017 Nov;2(11):1558-1570.
Featured in News & Views: Jurado, KA, Iwasaki A. Zika virus targets blood monocytes. Nature Microbiology. 2017, 2, 1460-1461.
High attention score of 622, 99th percentile (ranked 1st) – Mentioned by 78 news outlets, 40 tweeters, 171 Mendeley, 1 Faculty Opinions. - Chen W, Foo SS, Zaid A, Teng TS, Herrero LJ, Wolf S, Tharmarajah K, Vu LD, van Vreden C, Taylor A, Freitas JR, Li RW, Woodruff TM, Gordon R, Ojcius DM, Nakaya HI, Kanneganti TD, O'Neill LAJ, Robertson AAB, King NJ, Suhrbier A, Cooper MA, Ng LFP, Mahalingam S. Specific inhibition of NLRP3 in chikungunya disease reveals a role for inflammasomes in alphavirus-induced inflammation. Nature Microbiology. 2017 Oct;2(10):1435-1445.
- Burt FJ, Chen W, Miner JJ, Lenschow DJ, Merits A, Schnettler E, Kohl A, Rudd PA, Taylor A, Herrero LJ, Zaid A, Ng LFP, Mahalingam S. Chikungunya virus: an update on the biology and pathogenesis of this emerging pathogen. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2017 Apr;17(4): e107-e117.
- Liang Q, Luo Z, Zeng J, Chen W, Foo SS, Lee SA, Ge J, Wang S, Goldman SA, Zlokovic BV, Zhao Z, Jung JU. Zika Virus NS4A and NS4B Proteins Deregulate Akt-mTOR Signaling in Human Fetal Neural Stem Cells to Inhibit Neurogenesis and Induce Autophagy. Cell Stem Cell. 2016 Nov 3;19(5):663-671.
- Foo SS, Chen W, Taylor A, Sheng KC, Yu X, Teng TS, Reading PC, Blanchard H, Garlanda C, Mantovani A, Ng LF, Herrero LJ, Mahalingam S. Role of pentraxin 3 in shaping arthritogenic alphaviral disease: from enhanced viral replication to immunomodulation. PLoS Pathogens. 2015 Feb;11(2): e1004649.
- Chen W, Foo SS, Taylor A, Lulla A, Merits A, Hueston L, Forwood MR, Walsh NC, Sims NA, Herrero LJ, Mahalingam S. Bindarit, an inhibitor of monocyte chemotactic protein synthesis, protects against bone loss induced by chikungunya virus infection. Journal of Virology. 2015 Jan;89(1):581-93.
- Burt F*, Chen W*, Mahalingam S. Chikungunya virus and arthritic disease. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2014 Sep;14(9):789-90. (*Co-first authors)
- Chen W, Foo SS, Sims NA, Herrero LJ, Walsh NC, Mahalingam S. Arthritogenic alphaviruses: new insights into arthritis and bone pathology. Trends in Microbiology. 2015 Jan;23(1):35-43.
- Chen W, Foo SS, Li RW, Smith PN, Mahalingam S. Osteoblasts from osteoarthritis patients show enhanced susceptibility to Ross River virus infection associated with delayed type I interferon responses. Virology Journal. 2014 Nov 19; 11:189.
- Chen W, Foo SS, Rulli NE, Taylor A, Sheng KC, Herrero LJ, Herring BL, Lidbury BA, Li RW, Walsh NC, Sims NA, Smith PN, Mahalingam S. Arthritogenic alphaviral infection perturbs osteoblast function and triggers pathologic bone loss. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A. 2014 Apr 22;111(16):6040-5.
Featured in PNAS commentary: Ryman KD, Klimstra WB. Closing the gap between viral and noninfectious arthritis. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A. . 2014 Apr 22;111(16):5767-8. - Foo S*, Chen W*, Herrero LJ, Bettadapura J, Narayan J, Dar L, Broor S, Mahalingam S. The genetics of alphaviruses. Future virology. 2011; 6(12):1407-1422. (*Co-first authors)
Careers
Research News
SARS-CoV-2 triggers bone inflammation and breakdown, especially in individuals with autoimmune diseases.
A protein made by SARS-CoV-2 can pass through the placenta and cause serious inflammatory immune responses in the fetus for 66% of pregnancies.
These findings challenge the current diagnostic criteria for congenital Zika syndrome, expanding the definition beyond skull or brain abnormalities.
Dr. Javier Chen is spearheading groundbreaking research in infection biology, securing grants and publishing top-tier papers to pioneer proactive measures against future outbreaks.