Cardiovascular and Cancer Genetics

The goal of Dr. Hwang's translational work is to provide insights into developing novel strategies for preventing cancer and improving cardiovascular health.

Paul Hwang, M.D., Ph.D.

Senior Investigator Research Interests

Research Interests

Cardiovascular and Cancer Genetics

Earlier work in Dr. Hwang’s lab revealed that p53, the most commonly mutated tumor suppressor gene in human cancers that controls multiple pathways involved in cell growth, also regulates mitochondrial respiration as part of its adaptive activities against oxidative and other cellular stresses. Their work using mouse models as well as translational studies in patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), a cancer predisposition disorder caused by diverse inherited mutations in TP53, revealed that mutant p53 can have gain-of-function activities to promote oxidative metabolism and increase aerobic exercise capacity. Furthermore, they found that inhibiting mitochondrial metabolism can prevent tumorigenesis in LFS mouse models and that p53 can prevent chemotherapy-induced heart failure by maintaining the mitochondrial genome, both of which have important clinical implications. While continuing to examine the role of p53 in cardiac muscle homeostasis, they have recently identified a specific gene that regulates the mitochondria and appears to cause skeletal muscle bioenergetic deficiency in chronic fatigue syndrome. They have also identified a specific mitochondrial signaling pathway that mediates skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise, thereby increasing fatty acid oxidation and preventing obesity. The clinical relevance of these mechanistic insights are being determined through human translational studies with the potential to develop novel strategies for improving cardiovascular health.

Meet the Team

Paul Hwang, M.D., Ph.D.

Paul Hwang, M.D., Ph.D.

Senior Investigator

Dr. Paul Hwang earned BA degrees in biochemistry and chemistry from the University of Kansas in 1985, after which he spent a year at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and University of Zurich as a Fulbright Scholar. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with an MD and PhD in 1993. He did his internship and residency in internal medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine in San Francisco, followed by a clinical fellowship in cardiology and postdoctoral research in molecular oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Upon completion of his training in 2001, Dr. Hwang joined the NHLBI as a tenure-track investigator and became a senior investigator in the Cardiovascular Branch in 2011. He was elected as member of American Society for Clinical Investigation and fellow of the American College of Cardiology. He has served on the editorial boards of Drug Discovery Today, Frontiers in Mitochondrial Physiology, and Mitochondrion, and has authored numerous research articles and reviews in major journals. He has been recognized for his contributions to the NHLBI intramural research by receiving the NHLBI Orloff Science Award and the NHLBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Translational Science.

Alumni

Satoaki Matoba, M.D., Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
Satoaki Matoba, M.D., Ph.D. is currently a Professor and Chair at Cardiology Department, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine.

Joon-Young Park, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
Joon-Young Park, Ph.D. is currently a Associate Professor at Department of Health, Baylor University, Waco, Texas.

Jie Zhuang, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
Jie Zhuang, Ph.D. is currently a Associate Professor at Nankai University Medical School, Tianjin, China.

Ju Gyeong Kang, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
Ju Gyeong Kang, Ph.D. is currently a Research Professor at Laoratory of Molecular Oncogenetics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.