Anna Chi Man TSANG (曾智敏)B.Sc., Ph.D (HKU)annatsang@cuhk.edu.hk Dr Tsang joined the Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology from October 2018. She received her Bachelor and Master of Philosophy degrees in the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). She obtained her PhD and postdoctoral training in the University of Hong Kong (HKU), and was then employed as Research Assistant Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences. In 2011, she got the Young Investigator Award in the 18th Hong Kong International Congress of Cancer. With the award of the University of Hong Kong/China Medical Board Grant in 2013, she was appointed as a visiting scholar to examine live-cell invasion processes using advanced optical microscopies in King’s College London, UK. Her research interests are mainly on the roles of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the pathogenesis and progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). She has established several premalignant cell lines from tumor-adjacent nasopharyngeal tissues from NPC patients to study the effects of latent EBV genes in the carcinogenesis of NPC. One of her studies has also defined the requisite genetic alterations which permit the viral latency establishment for NPC development. From 2018, she has also been appointed as a Honorary Assistant Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences in HKU. Her recent researches focus on (i) developing 2D and 3D live-cell imaging to examine cancer cell invasion into matrix, (ii) utilizing organoid and patent-derived xenograft systems for preclinical drug testing and (iii) building up humanized mice platform for assessing the immune evasion properties of NPC cells in related to genetic depositions and EBV infection
Research Interests:
(a) Investigating the molecular roles of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC),
(b) Preclinical assessment of translational strategies to NPC using 3D organoid culture, patient-derived xenograft model and humanized mice model,
(c) Establishing advance live-cell imaging and intra-vital animal imaging for examining invasive properties of NPC cells,
(d) Applying micro-fluidics and bio-engineering platforms to study the migration behaviors of NPC cells in a bio-mimetic tumor microenvironment,
(e) Discovery of aptamers for visualizing and targeting of NPC tumors


Invited Book Chapter:
Tsang CM, Lo KW, Nicholls JM, Huang SCM, Tsao SW. Pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: histogenesis, EBV infection and tumour microenvironment. Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: From Etiology to Clinical Practice. 2019; 45-64
Memberships and Honors
Faculty Innovation Award (CUHK). Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. 2021.
Young Investigator Award. 18th Hong Kong International Cancer Congress. 2011
University of Hong Kong/China Medical Board Grant. Oversea training award in King’s College, London. 2013
Scientific Imaging Competition. Champion in Analysis and Visual Section. Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. 2015

Ongoing Grants as Project Coordinator/Principle Investigator
Principle investigator:
1. Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF). Targeting synthetic lethality interaction of MTAP and PRMT5/MAT2A axis in primary, recurrent and metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. $ 1,489,880. 2022 - 2025
2. General Research Fund (GRF). BCL3 as a unique therapeutic target for EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma. $ 1,191,556. 2021 - 2023.
3. Faculty Innovation Award (CUHK). Innovative therapies for targeting EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma’. $ 1,250,000. 2020-2025.
4. Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF). Development of molecular probes for surface markers on LMP1-positive nasopharyngeal cancer cells using aptamers selected by cell-SELEX. $ 1,119,496. 2018 -2021.
5. General Research Fund (GRF). The importance of EBV miR-BARTs in promoting the in vivo tumor growth of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by managing apoptotic responses under metabolic stress. Award $ 1,393,704. 2016 – 2019
6. General Research Fund (GRF). Potentiation of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs)-induced invasiveness in EBV-associated nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. Award $ 1,227,193. 2015 – 2018
7. Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF). The interaction of berberine with chemodrugs for treating EBV-associated carcinomas: the concern for lytic reactivation in affecting the drug efficacy. Award $ 1,143,296. 2016 -2018.
8. Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF). The protective role of Epstein-Barr virus infection towards starvation-induced apoptosis. Award $ 991,992. 2014 -2016.
9. Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases (RFCID). The biological significance of TGF in sensitizing the nasopharyngeal epithelial cells to EBV infection. Award $ 788, 704. 2013 – 2015.
10. Direct Grant (from CUHK). Investigating the impact of Epstein-Barr virus infection and immune cells to the growth of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in mice with reconstituted human immune system. Award $ 150, 000. 2019 – 2020.
11. Small Project Funding (from HKU). Investigating the role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC): regulation of survivin by EBV encoded latent membrane protein (LMP)1 under starvation stress. Award $ 80, 000. 2009 – 2011.
12. Small Project Funding (from HKU). Genetic predisposition in premalignant nasopharyngeal epithelial cells to facilitate clonal and persistent EBV infection. Award $ 33, 200. 2012 – 2014.

Co-Investigator:
1. Areas of Excellence Scheme. Centre for Medical Engineering of Molecular and Biological Probes. 2021 – 2029
2. National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)/ Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme. A mechanistic and clinicopathological study on the impact of invadosomes in promoting nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) metastasis under the interplay of stromal macrophages and EBV infection. 2019 - 2022
3. Collaborator Research Fund (CRF). Biomimetic 3D Microsystem to Study Tumour Survival and Drug Responses. 2016 -2019
4. Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF). Role of Bmi-1 in the persistence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. 2013 -2015


Research/Job Opportunities
PhD student, Postdoctoral fellow, Junior Research Assistant


Selected Publication

Total Number Of Publications: 67
H-Index: 28 (Scopus ID: 24831236400)Selected publications:
Xue Z, Lui VWY, Li Y, Jia L, You C, Li X, Piao W, Yuan H, Khong PL, Lo KW, Cheung LWT, Lee VHF, Lee AWM, Tsao SW, Tsang CM*. Therapeutic evaluation of palbociclib and its compatibility with other chemotherapies for primary and recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2021.

Ji D, Juhas M, Tsang CM, …., Zhang Y. Discovery of G-quadruplex-forming sequences in SARS-CoV-2. Brief Bioinform. 2021

Lechner M, Schartinger VH, Steele CD, Nei WL, Ooft ML, Schreiber LM, Pipinikas CP, Chung GT, Chan YY, Wu F, To KF, Tsang CM, …., Lund VJ. Somatostatin receptor 2 expression in nasopharyngeal cancer is induced by Epstein Barr virus infection: impact on prognosis, imaging and therapy. Nat Commun. 2021

Emanuel O, Liu J, Schartinger VH, Nei WL, Chan YY, Tsang CM, …., Lechner M. SSTR2 in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Relationship with Latent EBV Infection and Potential as a Therapeutic Target. Cancers. 2021

Yi C, Lai SL, Tsang CM, …., Wong AST. A three-dimensional spheroid-specific role for Wnt-β-catenin and Eph-ephrin signaling in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. J Cell Sci. 2021

Bruce JP, To KF, Lui VWY, Chung GTY, Chan YY, Tsang CM, …., Paterson IC, Yap LF, Tsao SW, Liu FF, Chan ATC, Pugh TJ, Lo KW. Whole-genome profiling of nasopharyngeal carcinoma reveals viral-host co-operation in inflammatory NF-κB activation and immune escape. Nat Commun. 2021

Tsang CM, Liu ZY, Zhang W, You C, Jones GE, Tsao SW, et al. Integration of biochemical and topographic cues for the formation and spatial distribution of invadosomes in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. Acta Biomater. 2020.

Zhang J, Jia L, Liu T, Yip YL, Tang WC, Lin W, … Tsang CM*. mTORC2-mediated PDHE1alpha nuclear translocation links EBV-LMP1 reprogrammed glucose metabolism to cancer metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Oncogene. 2019;38(24):4669-84.

Tsang CM, Lui VWY, Bruce JP, Pugh TJ, Lo KW. Translational genomics of nasopharyngeal cancer. Semin Cancer Biol. 2019.

Huang SCM, Tsao SW, Tsang CM*. Interplay of Viral Infection, Host Cell Factors and Tumor Microenvironment in the Pathogenesis of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel). 2018;10(4).

Tsang CM, Yip YL, Lo KW, Deng W, To KF, Hau PM, et al. Cyclin D1 overexpression supports stable EBV infection in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109(50):E3473-82.

Tsang CM, Cheung KC, Cheung YC, Man K, Lui VW, Tsao SW, et al. Berberine suppresses Id-1 expression and inhibits the growth and development of lung metastases in hepatocellular carcinoma. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2015;1852(3):541-51.

Tsang CM, Tsao SW. The role of Epstein-Barr virus infection in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Virol Sin. 2015;30(2):107-21.

Tsang CM, Cheung YC, Lui VW, Yip YL, Zhang G, Lin VW, et al. Berberine suppresses tumorigenicity and growth of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by inhibiting STAT3 activation induced by tumor associated fibroblasts. BMC Cancer. 2013;13:619.

Tsang CM, Zhang G, Seto E, Takada K, Deng W, Yip YL, et al. Epstein-Barr virus infection in immortalized nasopharyngeal epithelial cells: regulation of infection and phenotypic characterization. Int J Cancer. 2010;127(7):1570-83.

Tsang CM, Wong CK, Ip WK, Lam CW. Synergistic effect of SCF and TNF-alpha on the up-regulation of cell-surface expression of ICAM-1 on human leukemic mast cell line (HMC)-1 cells. J Leukoc Biol. 2005;78(1):239-47.