Li Ma, Ph.D.
Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology, Division of Radiation Oncology
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology, Division of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Nylene Eckles Distinguished Professor, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Professor and Regular Member, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX
Research Interests
The overarching goal of my laboratory is to understand the molecular mechanisms of tumor progression and metastasis. We have played a major role in establishing the current models of non-coding RNA regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, metastasis, and therapy resistance. Moreover, we discovered the deubiquitinases for key cancer proteins; some of these deubiquitinases are promising therapeutic targets.
Currently, our team is: (1) establishing new paradigms for RNA functions and mechanisms (non-coding RNAs, RNA epigenetics, and RNA-binding proteins) in tumor progression and metastasis; (2) screening for deubiquitinating enzymes that promote tumorigenesis, metastasis, and therapy resistance; (3) investigating novel regulators and regulations of tumor radioresistance and drug resistance; and (4) studying the role of specific developmental regulators in cancer, metabolism, and regeneration by using genetically engineered mouse models generated in our lab.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2006 | Sloan-Kettering Institute, Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA, PHD, Cancer Biology and Genetics |
| 2001 | Peking University, Beijing, CHN, BS, Biology |
Postgraduate Training
| 2006-2010 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Cancer Biology, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology, Division of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2015 - 2021
Associate Professor and Regular Member, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, 2015 - 2021
Assistant Professor and Regular Member, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, 2011 - 2015
Assistant Professor, Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology, Division of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2010 - 2015
Honors & Awards
| 2023 | Nylene Eckles Distinguished Professorship, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2023 | Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS |
| 2021 | Sue Eccles Award for Outstanding Achievements in Metastasis Research, Metastasis Research Society |
| 2020 | R. Lee Clark Prize in Basic/Translational Science, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2016 | Stand Up To Cancer Innovative Research Award, American Association for Cancer Research |
| 2015 | MD Anderson President’s Recognition for Faculty Excellence Award, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2014 | Clark Fellows Award, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2014 | AAAS Martin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Award, American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| 2013 | Faculty Scholar Award, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2010 | CPRIT Scholar Award, Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas |
| 2010 | University of Texas STARS Award, University of Texas |
| 2010 | MD Anderson Cancer Center Support Grant Faculty Development Award, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2009 | NIH/NCI Pathway to Independence Award, National Cancer Institute |
| 2008 | Margaret and Herman Sokol Award, Margaret and Herman Sokol |
| 2007 | Life Sciences Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, Life Sciences Research Foundation |
| 2005 | Julian Rachele Prize, Julian Rachele |
| 2000 | Panasonic Scholarship, Panasonic and Peking University |
| 1999 | Guang Hua Scholarship, Guang Hua Foundation and Peking University |
| 1997 | First Prize, National Competition of Chemistry, Chinese Chemical Society |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Nie L, Wang C, Huang M, Liu X, Feng X, Tang M, Li S, Hang Q, Teng H, Shen X, Ma L, Gan B, Chen J. DePARylation is critical for S phase progression and cell survival. Elife 12, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38578205.
- Zhao Y, Ning J, Teng H, Deng Y, Sheldon M, Shi L, Martinez C, Zhang J, Tian A, Sun Y, Nakagawa S, Yao F, Wang H, Ma L. Long noncoding RNA Malat1 protects against osteoporosis and bone metastasis. Nat Commun 15(1):2384, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38493144.
- Mei Y, Hang Q, Teng H, Yao F, Chen MK, Hung MC, Sun Y, Ma L. ZRANB1 is an NBS1 deubiquitinase and a potential target to overcome radioresistance and PARP inhibitor resistance in triple-negative breast cancer. Genes Dis 10(5):1739-1742, 2023. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 37492703.
- Yan Y, Teng H, Hang Q, Kondiparthi L, Lei G, Horbath A, Liu X, Mao C, Wu S, Zhuang L, James You M, Poyurovsky MV, Ma L, Olszewski K, Gan B. SLC7A11 expression level dictates differential responses to oxidative stress in cancer cells. Nat Commun 14(1):3673, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37339981.
- Nie L, Wang C, Liu X, Teng H, Li S, Huang M, Feng X, Pei G, Hang Q, Zhao Z, Gan B, Ma L, Chen J. USP7 substrates identified by proteomics analysis reveal the specificity of USP7. Genes Dev 36(17-18):1016-1030, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36302555.
- Yao F, Deng Y, Zhao Y, Mei Y, Zhang Y, Liu X, Martinez C, Su X, Rosato RR, Teng H, Hang Q, Yap S, Chen D, Wang Y, Chen MM, Zhang M, Liang H, Xie D, Chen X, Zhu H, Chang JC, You MJ, Sun Y, Gan B, Ma L. A targetable LIFR-NF-κB-LCN2 axis controls liver tumorigenesis and vulnerability to ferroptosis. Nat Commun 12(1):7333, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34921145.
- Deng Y, Xia X, Zhao Y, Zhao Z, Martinez C, Yin W, Yao J, Hang Q, Wu W, Zhang J, Yu Y, Xia W, Yao F, Zhao D, Sun Y, Ying H, Hung MC, Ma L. Glucocorticoid receptor regulates PD-L1 and MHC-I in pancreatic cancer cells to promote immune evasion and immunotherapy resistance. Nat Commun 12(1):7041, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34873175.
- Hang Q, Zeng L, Wang L, Nie L, Yao F, Teng H, Deng Y, Yap S, Sun Y, Frank SJ, Chen J, Ma L. Non-canonical function of DGCR8 in DNA double-strand break repair signaling and tumor radioresistance. Nat Commun 12(1):4033, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34188037.
- Mei Y, Chen MM, Liang H, Ma L. A four-gene signature predicts survival and anti-CTLA4 immunotherapeutic responses based on immune classification of melanoma. Commun Biol 4(1):383, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33753855.
- Yang J, Lee SJ, Kwon Y, Ma L, Kim J. Tumor suppressive function of Matrin 3 in the basal-like breast cancer. Biol Res 53(1):42, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32977861.
- Zhang Y, Shi J, Liu X, Xiao Z, Lei G, Lee H, Koppula P, Cheng W, Mao C, Zhuang L, Ma L, Li W, Gan B. H2A Monoubiquitination Links Glucose Availability to Epigenetic Regulation of the Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response and Cancer Cell Death. Cancer Res 80(11):2243-2256, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32273282.
- Nguyen TM, Kabotyanski EB, Reineke LC, Shao J, Xiong F, Lee JH, Dubrulle J, Johnson H, Stossi F, Tsoi PS, Choi KJ, Ellis AG, Zhao N, Cao J, Adewunmi O, Ferreon JC, Ferreon ACM, Neilson JR, Mancini MA, Chen X, Kim J, Ma L, Li W, Rosen JM. The SINEB1 element in the long non-coding RNA Malat1 is necessary for TDP-43 proteostasis. Nucleic Acids Res 48(5):2621-2642, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31863590.
- Lee H, Zandkarimi F, Zhang Y, Meena JK, Kim J, Zhuang L, Tyagi S, Ma L, Westbrook TF, Steinberg GR, Nakada D, Stockwell BR, Gan B. Energy-stress-mediated AMPK activation inhibits ferroptosis. Nat Cell Biol 22(2):225-234, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32029897.
- Xiao Z, Chang L, Kim J, Zhang P, Hang Q, Yap S, Guo Y, Zhou Z, Zeng L, Hu X, Siverly A, Sun Y, Ma L. USP37 is a SNAI1 deubiquitinase. Am J Cancer Res 9(12):2749-2759, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31911859.
- Kim J, Piao HL, Kim BJ, Yao F, Han Z, Wang Y, Xiao Z, Siverly AN, Lawhon SE, Ton BN, Lee H, Zhou Z, Gan B, Nakagawa S, Ellis MJ, Liang H, Hung MC, You MJ, Sun Y, Ma L. Long non-coding RNA MALAT1 suppresses breast cancer metastasis. Nat Genet 50(12):1705-1715, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30349115.
- Yao F, Zhou Z, Kim J, Hang Q, Xiao Z, Ton BN, Chang L, Liu N, Zeng L, Wang W, Wang Y, Zhang P, Hu X, Su X, Liang H, Sun Y, Ma L. SKP2- and OTUD1-regulated non-proteolytic ubiquitination of YAP promotes YAP nuclear localization and activity. Nat Commun 9(1):2269, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29891922.
- Zhang P, Xiao Z, Wang S, Zhang M, Wei Y, Hang Q, Kim J, Yao F, Rodriguez-Aguayo C, Ton BN, Lee M, Wang Y, Zhou Z, Zeng L, Hu X, Lawhon SE, Siverly AN, Su X, Li J, Xie X, Cheng X, Liu LC, Chang HW, Chiang SF, Lopez-Berestein G, Sood AK, Chen J, You MJ, Sun SC, Liang H, Huang Y, Yang X, Sun D, Sun Y, Hung MC, Ma L. ZRANB1 is an EZH2 deubiquitinase and a potential therapeutic target in breast cancer. Cell Rep 23(3):823-837, 2018. PMID: 29669287.
- Ge Z, Leighton JS, Wang Y, Peng X, Chen Z, Chen H, Sun Y, Yao F, Li J, Zhang H, Liu J, Shriver CD, Hu H, Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network, Piwnica-Worms H, Ma L, Liang H. Integrated genomic analysis of the ubiquitin pathway across cancer types. Cell Rep 23(1):213-226.e3, 2018. PMID: 29617661.
- Kim J, Alavi Naini F, Sun Y, Ma L. Ubiquitin-specific peptidase 2a (USP2a) deubiquitinates and stabilizes β-catenin. Am J Cancer Res 8(9):1823-1836, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30323974.
- Yuan T, Yang Y, Chen J, Li W, Li W, Zhang Q, Mi Y, Goswami RS, You JQ, Lin D, Qian MD, Calin S, Liang Y, Miranda RN, Calin GA, Zhou X, Ma L, Zweidler-McKay PA, Liu B, Weng AP, Medeiros LJ, Zhang Y, You MJ. Regulation of PI3K signaling in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a novel PTEN/Ikaros/miR-26b mechanism reveals a critical targetable role for PIK3CD. Leukemia 31(11):2355-2364, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28280276.
- Wang L, Zhang P, Molkentine DP, Chen C, Molkentine JM, Piao H, Raju U, Zhang J, Valdecanas DR, Tailor RC, Thames HD, Buchholz TA, Chen J, Ma L, Mason KA, Ang KK, Meyn RE, Skinner HD. TRIP12 as a mediator of human papillomavirus/p16-related radiation enhancement effects. Oncogene 36(6):820-828, 2017. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27425591.
- Zhou Z, Zhang P, Hu X, Kim J, Yao F, Xiao Z, Zeng L, Chang L, Sun Y, Ma L. USP51 promotes deubiquitination and stabilization of ZEB1. Am J Cancer Res 7(10):2020-2031, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29119051.
- Kim J, Siverly AN, Chen D, Wang M, Yuan Y, Wang Y, Lee H, Zhang J, Muller WJ, Liang H, Gan B, Yang X, Sun Y, You MJ, Ma L. Ablation of miR-10b suppresses oncogene-induced mammary tumorigenesis and metastasis and reactivates tumor-suppressive pathways. Cancer Res 76(21):6424-6435, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27569213.
- Fan J, Tea MK, Yang C, Ma L, Meng QH, Hu TY, Singer CF, Ferrari M. Profiling of Cross-Functional Peptidases Regulated Circulating Peptides in BRCA1 Mutant Breast Cancer. J Proteome Res 15(5):1534-45, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27058005.
- Lee H, Dai F, Zhuang L, Xiao ZD, Kim J, Zhang Y, Ma L, You MJ, Wang Z, Gan B. BAF180 regulates cellular senescence and hematopoietic stem cell homeostasis through p21. Oncotarget 7(15):19134-46, 2016. PMID: 26992241.
- Zhang P, Wei Y, Wang L, Debeb BG, Yuan Y, Zhang J, Yuan J, Wang M, Chen D, Sun Y, Woodward WA, Liu Y, Dean DC, Liang H, Hu Y, Ang KK, Hung MC, Chen J, Ma L. ATM-mediated stabilization of ZEB1 promotes DNA damage response and radioresistance through CHK1. Nat Cell Biol 16(9):864-75, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25086746.
- Lin A, Piao HL, Zhuang L, Sarbassov dos D, Ma L, Gan B. FoxO transcription factors promote AKT Ser473 phosphorylation and renal tumor growth in response to pharmacological inhibition of the PI3K-AKT pathway. Cancer Res 74(6):1682-93, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24448243.
- Piao HL, Yuan Y, Wang M, Sun Y, Liang H, Ma L. α-catenin acts as a tumour suppressor in E-cadherin-negative basal-like breast cancer by inhibiting NF-κB signalling. Nat Cell Biol 16(3):245-54, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24509793.
- Chen D, Sun Y, Yuan Y, Han Z, Zhang P, Zhang J, You MJ, Teruya-Feldstein J, Wang M, Gupta S, Hung MC, Liang H, Ma L. miR-100 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition but suppresses tumorigenesis, migration and invasion. PLoS Genet 10(2):e1004177, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24586203.
- Zhang P, Wang L, Rodriguez-Aguayo C, Yuan Y, Debeb BG, Chen D, Sun Y, You MJ, Liu Y, Dean DC, Woodward WA, Liang H, Yang X, Lopez-Berestein G, Sood AK, Hu Y, Ang KK, Chen J, Ma L. miR-205 acts as a tumour radiosensitizer by targeting ZEB1 and Ubc13. Nat Commun 5:5671, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25476932.
- Zhang J, Zhang P, Wei Y, Piao HL, Wang W, Maddika S, Wang M, Chen D, Sun Y, Hung MC, Chen J, Ma L. Deubiquitylation and stabilization of PTEN by USP13. Nat Cell Biol 15(12):1486-94, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24270891.
- Chen D, Sun Y, Wei Y, Zhang P, Rezaeian AH, Teruya-Feldstein J, Gupta S, Liang H, Lin HK, Hung MC, Ma L. LIFR is a breast cancer metastasis suppressor upstream of the Hippo-YAP pathway and a prognostic marker. Nat Med 18(10):1511-7, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23001183.
- Ma L, Reinhardt F, Pan E, Soutschek J, Bhat B, Marcusson EG, Teruya-Feldstein J, Bell GW, Weinberg RA. Therapeutic silencing of miR-10b inhibits metastasis in a mouse mammary tumor model. Nat Biotechnol 28(4):341-7, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20351690.
- Ma L, Young J, Prabhala H, Pan E, Mestdagh P, Muth D, Teruya-Feldstein J, Reinhardt F, Onder TT, Valastyan S, Westermann F, Speleman F, Vandesompele J, Weinberg RA. miR-9, a MYC/MYCN-activated microRNA, regulates E-cadherin and cancer metastasis. Nat Cell Biol 12(3):247-56, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20173740.
- Distefano G, Boca M, Rowe I, Wodarczyk C, Ma L, Piontek KB, Germino GG, Pandolfi PP, Boletta A. Polycystin-1 regulates extracellular signal-regulated kinase-dependent phosphorylation of tuberin to control cell size through mTOR and its downstream effectors S6K and 4EBP1. Mol Cell Biol 29(9):2359-71, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19255143.
- Carracedo A, Ma L, Teruya-Feldstein J, Rojo F, Salmena L, Alimonti A, Egia A, Sasaki AT, Thomas G, Kozma SC, Papa A, Nardella C, Cantley LC, Baselga J, Pandolfi PP. Inhibition of mTORC1 leads to MAPK pathway activation through a PI3K-dependent feedback loop in human cancer. J Clin Invest 118(9):3065-74, 2008. PMID: 18725988.
- Ma L, Teruya-Feldstein J, Weinberg RA. Tumour invasion and metastasis initiated by microRNA-10b in breast cancer. Nature 449(7163):682-688, 2007. PMID: 17898713.
- Ma L, Teruya-Feldstein J, Bonner P, Bernardi R, Franz DN, Witte D, Cordon-Cardo C, Pandolfi PP. Identification of S664 TSC2 phosphorylation as a marker for extracellular signal-regulated kinase mediated mTOR activation in tuberous sclerosis and human cancer. Cancer Research 67(15):7106-7112, 2007. PMID: 17671177.
- Hernando E, Charytonowicz E, Dudas ME, Menendez S, Matushansky I, Mills J, Socci ND, Behrendt N, Ma L, Maki RG, Pandolfi PP, Cordon-Cardo C. The AKT-mTOR pathway plays a critical role in the development of leiomyosarcomas. Nat Med 13(6):748-753, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17496901.
- Ma L, Teruya-Feldstein J, Behrendt N, Chen Z, Noda T, Hino O, Cordon-Cardo C, Pandolfi PP. Genetic analysis of Pten and Tsc2 functional interactions in the mouse reveals asymmetrical haploinsufficiency in tumor suppression. Genes & Development 19(15):1779-1786, 2005. PMID: 16027168.
- Ma L, Chen Z, Erdjument-Bromage H, Tempst P, Pandolfi PP. Phosphorylation and functional inactivation of TSC2 by Erk implications for tuberous sclerosis and cancer pathogenesis. Cell 121(2):179-193, 2005. PMID: 15851026.
- Ruggero D, Montanaro L, Ma L, Xu W, Londei P, Cordon-Cardo C, Pandolfi PP. The translation factor eIF-4E promotes tumor formation and cooperates with c-Myc in lymphomagenesis. Nature Medicine 10(5):484-486, 2004. PMID: 15098029.
Invited Articles
- Sun Y, Ma L. A milestone in epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Nat Cell Biol 26(1):29-30, 2024. PMID: 38228829.
- Zhao Y, Sheldon M, Sun Y, Ma L. New Insights into YAP/TAZ-TEAD-Mediated Gene Regulation and Biological Processes in Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 15(23), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38067201.
- Lei P, Wang W, Sheldon M, Sun Y, Yao F, Ma L. Role of Glucose Metabolic Reprogramming in Breast Cancer Progression and Drug Resistance. Cancers (Basel) 15(13), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37444501.
- Shen W, Chen Y, Lei P, Sheldon M, Sun Y, Yao F, Ma L. Immunotherapeutic approaches for treating hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 14(20), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36291797.
- Yao F, Zhao Y, Ma L. LIF-ting ferroptosis to improve liver cancer therapy. Genes Dis 9(5):1153-1155, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35873019.
- Yao Y, Shi Y, Gao Z, Sun Y, Yao F, Ma L. Ferroptosis at the crossroads of tumor-host interactions, metastasis, and therapy response. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 323(1):C95-C103, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35613358.
- Chen Y, Zhou D, Yao Y, Sun Y, Yao F, Ma L. Monoubiquitination in Homeostasis and Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 23(11), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35682605.
- Wang L, Fossati P, Paganetti H, Ma L, Gillison M, Myers JN, Hug E, Frank SJ. The Biological Basis for Enhanced Effects of Proton Radiation Therapy Relative to Photon Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Int J Part Ther 8(1):3-13, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34285931.
- Zhao Y, Teng H, Yao F, Yap S, Sun Y, Ma L. Challenges and Strategies in Ascribing Functions to Long Noncoding RNAs. Cancers (Basel) 12(6), 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32503290.
- Yao F, Ma L. piRNA-unbound PIWIL1 promotes metastasis. Nat Cell Biol 22(4):359-360, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32203422.
- Sun Y, Ma L. New insights into long non-coding RNA MALAT1 in cancer and metastasis. Cancers (Basel) 11(2), 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30781877.
- Yao F, Xiao Z, Sun Y, Ma L. SKP2 and OTUD1 govern non-proteolytic ubiquitination of YAP that promotes YAP nuclear localization and activity. Cell Stress 2(9):233-235, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 31225491.
- Kirsch DG, Diehn M, Kesarwala AH, Maity A, Morgan MA, Schwarz JK, Bristow R, Demaria S, Eke I, Griffin RJ, Haas-Kogan D, Higgins GS, Kimmelman AC, Kimple RJ, Lombaert IM, Ma L, Marples B, Pajonk F, Park CC, Schaue D, Bernhard EJ. The Future of Radiobiology. J Natl Cancer Inst 110(4):329-340, 2018. PMID: 29126306.
- Kim J, Yao F, Xiao Z, Sun Y, Ma L. MicroRNAs and metastasis: small RNAs play big roles. Cancer Metastasis Rev 37(1):5-15, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29234933.
- Xiao Z, Zhang P, Ma L. The role of deubiquitinases in breast cancer. Cancer Metastasis Rev 35(4):589-600, 2016. PMID: 27844253.
- Ma L. Preface. Cancer Metastasis Rev 35(4):493-494, 2016. PMID: 27858304.
- Sun Y, Ma L. The emerging molecular machinery and therapeutic targets of metastasis. Trends Pharmacol Sci 36(6):349-59, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25939811.
- Zhang P, Sun Y, Ma L. ZEB1: at the crossroads of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, metastasis and therapy resistance. Cell Cycle 14(4):0, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25607528.
- Sun Y, Zhang J, Ma L. α-catenin: A tumor suppressor beyond adherens junctions. Cell Cycle 13(15). e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24988077.
- Ma L. Determinants of breast cancer progression. Sci Transl Med 6(243):243fs25, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24990878.
- Zhang J, Zhang P, Wang L, Piao HL, Ma L. Long non-coding RNA HOTAIR in carcinogenesis and metastasis. Acta Biochim Biophys Sin (Shanghai) 46(1):1-5, 2014. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24165275.
- Zhang J, Ma L. MicroRNA control of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastasis. Cancer Metastasis Rev 31(3-4):653-62, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22684369.
- Piao HL, Ma L. Non-coding RNAs as regulators of mammary development and breast cancer. J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia 17(1):33-42, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22350981.
- Ma L. Role of miR-10b in breast cancer metastasis. Breast Cancer Res 26(12):210, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 21067538.
- Ma L, Weinberg RA. Micromanagers of malignancy: role of microRNAs in regulating metastasis. Trends Genet 24(9):448-456, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18674843.
- Ma L, Weinberg RA. MicroRNAs in malignant progression. Cell Cycle 7(5):570-572, 2008. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 18256538.
Book Chapters
- Kim J, Ma L. Capturing Endogenous Long Noncoding RNAs and Their Binding Proteins Using Chromatin Isolation by RNA Purification. In: Methods Mol Biol. Springer Nature, 85-92, 2021.
- Ma L. MicroRNA and metastasis. In: Adv Cancer Res. Elsevier, 165-207, 2016.