Grace Chen, PhD
Assistant ProfessorDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Appointments
Immunobiology
Primary
Genetics
Secondary
Additional Titles
Director of Graduate Admissions, Immunology
Contact Info
Appointments
Immunobiology
Primary
Genetics
Secondary
Additional Titles
Director of Graduate Admissions, Immunology
Contact Info
Appointments
Immunobiology
Primary
Genetics
Secondary
Additional Titles
Director of Graduate Admissions, Immunology
Contact Info
About
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Titles
Assistant Professor
Director of Graduate Admissions, Immunology
Biography
Grace Chen received her undergraduate training in the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley. She attended Harvard University for her PhD where she worked in David Liu's laboratory to discover and characterize novel RNA modifications. Her postdoctoral research was at Stanford University in Howard Chang's group, where she investigated circular RNA immunity. Grace joined Yale University as a faculty in the Department of Immunobiology in 2019. Her research focuses on the functions and regulations of circular RNAs and RNA modifications in health and disease.
Last Updated on May 19, 2025.
Appointments
Immunobiology
Assistant ProfessorPrimaryGenetics
Assistant ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Stanford University (2018)
- PhD
- Harvard University, Chemical Biology (2012)
- BS
- UC Berkeley, Chemical Biology (2005)
Research
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Autoimmune Diseases; Immune System; Immunotherapy; Mass Spectrometry; RNA, Circular; RNA, Double-Stranded
ORCID
0000-0003-3574-5734
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Grace Chen's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Grace Chen's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Grace Chen is interested in exploring.
Antariksh Tyagi, PhD
Joseph Craft, MD
Ruth Halaban, PhD
Sarah Slavoff
5Publications
40Citations
RNA, Circular
Publications
2025
The ERVK3‑1 Microprotein Interacts with the HUSH Complex
Jayatissa A, Jaunbocus N, Erkalo B, Jiang K, Zheng S, Su H, Yan L, Choi J, Vaughan J, Bacchiocchi A, Na Z, Cao X, Halaban R, Saghatelian A, Craft J, Chen Y, Slavoff S. The ERVK3‑1 Microprotein Interacts with the HUSH Complex. Biochemistry 2025, 64: 3372-3381. PMID: 40699144, PMCID: PMC12339190, DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.5c00023.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsHUSH complexTranscriptional repressionHuman endogenous retrovirusesIntron-less geneRegulation of target gene expressionEndogenous retrovirusesTarget gene expressionGenomic elementsHuman genomeTarget genesGene expressionHuman cellsMicroproteinsExogenous retrovirusesLociGenesRetrovirusesRetrotransposonsGenomeMolecular remnantsRepressionPPHLN1ComplexRegulationHuman and pathogen-encoded circular RNAs in viral infections: insights into functions and therapeutic opportunities
Mueller N, Dujsikova A, Singh A, Chen Y. Human and pathogen-encoded circular RNAs in viral infections: insights into functions and therapeutic opportunities. Human Molecular Genetics 2025, ddaf031. PMID: 40304711, DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddaf031.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsCitationsConceptsDNA virusesHost cellular machineryHost-virus interactionsCircular RNAsContribution to pathogenesisRNA biologyProtein translationCellular machineryProtein decoysRNA-based therapiesBiological rolePotential of circRNAsRegulatory moleculesRNAMicroRNA spongesViral systemsDNAViral replicationImmune evasionTherapeutic targetCircRNAsTherapeutic opportunitiesHostProteinViral diseases
2024
A scalable and cost-efficient rRNA depletion approach to enrich RNAs for molecular biology investigations
Singh A, Xue A, Tai J, Mbadugha F, Obi P, Mascarenhas R, Tyagi A, Siena A, Chen Y. A scalable and cost-efficient rRNA depletion approach to enrich RNAs for molecular biology investigations. RNA 2024, 30: rna.079761.123. PMID: 38485192, PMCID: PMC11098455, DOI: 10.1261/rna.079761.123.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDepleting rRNACellular processesAbundance of rRNAMolecular biological investigationsNon-rRNA transcriptsComplex regulatory networkInvestigate gene expressionRRNA removalRRNA moleculesHistone mRNARegulatory networksSmall RNAsPositive selectionRRNARNA inputBiological investigationsTranscriptome analysisLong noncoding RNAsGene expressionRegulatory mechanismsRNAOff-target effectsNoncoding RNAsCircular RNAsTranscription
2023
Differences in the immunogenicity of engineered circular RNAs
Tai J, Chen Y. Differences in the immunogenicity of engineered circular RNAs. Journal Of Molecular Cell Biology 2023, 15: mjad002. PMID: 36787893, PMCID: PMC10257478, DOI: 10.1093/jmcb/mjad002.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords
2022
circCsnk1g3- and circAnkib1-regulated interferon responses in sarcoma promote tumorigenesis by shaping the immune microenvironment
Piras R, Ko E, Barrett C, De Simone M, Lin X, Broz M, Tessaro F, Castillo-Martin M, Cordon-Cardo C, Goodridge H, Di Vizio D, Batish M, Lawrenson K, Chen Y, Chan K, Guarnerio J. circCsnk1g3- and circAnkib1-regulated interferon responses in sarcoma promote tumorigenesis by shaping the immune microenvironment. Nature Communications 2022, 13: 7243. PMID: 36433954, PMCID: PMC9700836, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34872-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsNon-coding RNA speciesExonic circular RNAsViral RNA sensorsRNA speciesInterferon-related genesSpecific circRNAsCircular RNAsSarcoma cellsCircRNAsRNA sensorsCancer progressionFunctional contributionInterferon responseSoft tissue sarcoma cellsImmune cell recruitmentPro-tumorigenic microenvironmentCellsTumor growthSarcoma growthTumor cellsPro-inflammatory elementsCell recruitmentActivationPro-inflammatory factorsMicroenvironment
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
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Activities
activity Circular RNA Immunity
12/08/2025 - PresentOral PresentationNature Conference: Cracking the Code 2DetailsBoston, MA, United States
Honors
honor Allens Distinguished Investigators
12/03/2021National AwardDetailsUnited Stateshonor Rita Allen Foundation Scholars
09/01/2020National AwardDetailsUnited States
Teaching & Mentoring
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Teaching
Didactic Responsible Conduct of Research
LecturerLecture SettingDetails1/1/2020 - PresentForGraduate3 Average Instructional Hours Per Year
Mentoring
Na Liu, PhD
Associate Research Scientist2025 - PresentNoah Mueller
Postgrad associate2023 - 2025Adela Dujsikova
Postgrad associate2023 - 2025Adamo Siena
Postdoc2022 - 2024
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Locations
Chen Laboratory
Lab
The Anlyan Center
300 Cedar Street, Ste S540
New Haven, CT 06519