He Nucleus Xu, PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Radiology
Technical Director, Britton Chance Laboratory of Redox Imaging, Johnson Research Foundation, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania
Department: Radiology
Contact information
168A John Morgan Bldg, 3620 Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 215-746-2075
Email:
hexu2@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
hexu2@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Education:
BS (Physics)
Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China, 1983.
MS (Optics)
Anhui Optics and Fine Mechanics Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China, 1988.
MS (Chemistry)
Drexel University, 1993.
PhD (Chemistry)
Drexel University, 1999.
Permanent linkBS (Physics)
Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China, 1983.
MS (Optics)
Anhui Optics and Fine Mechanics Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China, 1988.
MS (Chemistry)
Drexel University, 1993.
PhD (Chemistry)
Drexel University, 1999.
Description of Clinical Expertise
Optical redox imaging of patient biopsiesLabel free optical imaging of clinical formalin-fixed-paraffin-embedded tissue slides
Description of Other Expertise
The Treasurer of the International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue (ISOTT)Description of Research Expertise
1. Optical imaging of endogenous and/or exogenous fluorescence for the following research interests:1) Identification of optical redox imaging biomarkers for cancer diagnosis/prognosis (cell culture, tissue, frozen clinical biopsies);
2) Identification of optical redox imaging biomarkers for aging and age-associated neurodegenerative diseases (cell culture, tissue, clinical biopsies, FFPE sections);
3) Imaging biomarkers for prematurity-associated bronchopulmonary dysplasia endotypes;
4) Development of optical metabolic imaging methods for detecting therapeutic effects for breast cancer (cell culture & tissue);
5) Development of label-free optical imaging biomarkers from FFPE sections for neurodegenerative diseases;
2. Development of immunotherapy and biomarkers for breast cancer:
1) Augmenting combination therapy and CAR T therapy efficacy;
2) Identification of the metabolic signatures of PBMC biomarkers for predicting therapeutic response and prognosis;
Selected Publications
Irene Georgakoudi, Melissa C. Skala, Kyle P. Quinn, Chiara Stringari, Janet E. Sorrells, Ahmed A. Heikal, Lin Z. Li, He N. Xu, Sixian You, Alex J. Walsh, Rupsa Datta, Kayvan Samimi, Amani A. Gillette, Kevin W. Eliceiri, Mihaela Balu, Stephen A. Boppart, Michelle A. Digman, Kylie R. Dunning, Conor L. Evans, Alba Alfonso Garcia, Jessica P. Houston, Wonsang Hwang, Matthew M. Lindley, Xingde Li, Zhiyi Liu, Laura Marcu, Sangeeta Murugkar, Michael G. Nichols, Raluca Niesner, Sapun H. Parekh, Narasimhan Rajaram, Suman Ranjit, Keyue Shen, Lingyan Shi, Belén Torrado, Alexander Vallmitjana, Michael Wang-Evers, Roger Zemp: Consensus guidelines for cellular label-free optical metabolic imaging: ensuring accuracy and reproducibility in metabolic profiling. J. Biomed. Opt. SPIE, 30(S2): S23901, 2025.Kollmar, J.; Xu, J.; Gonzalves, D.; Baur, J.A.; Li, L.Z.; Tchou, J.; Xu, H.N.*: Differential Mitochondrial Redox Responses to the Inhibition of NAD+ Salvage Pathway of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells. Cancers 17(1): 7, Dec 2024 Notes: DOI: 10.3390/cancers17010007.
Xu HN*^, Gonzalves D, Hoffman JH, Baur JA, Li LZ, Jensen EA^: Use of Optical Redox Imaging to Quantify Alveolar Macrophage Redox State in Infants: Proof of Concept Experiments in a Murine Model and Human Tracheal Aspirates Samples. Antioxidants 13(5): 546, Apr 2024 Notes: DOI: 10.3390/antiox13050546. *Corresponding author; ^equal contribution.
Xu, H.N.*; Gourmaud, S.; Podsednik, A.; Li, X.; Zhao, H.; Jensen, F.E.; Talos, D.M.*; Li, L.Z.* : Optical redox imaging of ex vivo hippocampal tissue reveals age-dependent alterations in the 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Metabolites 12: 786, 2022 Notes: *Corresponding author.
Xu, H. N., Lin, Z., Gandhi, C. K., Amatya, S., Wang, Y., Li, L. Z. and Floros, J.: Sex and SP-A2 dependent NAD(H) Redox Alterations in Mouse Alveolar Macrophages in Response to Ozone Exposure: Potential Implications for COVID-19. Antioxidants 9(10): 915, 2020.
He N. Xu*, Huaqing Zhao, Karthikeyani Chellappa, James G. Davis, Shoko Nioka, Joseph A. Baur, Lin Z. Li* : Optical redox imaging of fixed unstained muscle slides reveals useful biological information. Mol Imaging Biol 21(3): 417-425, 2019 Notes: *corresponding author.
Allison Podsednik, Annemarie Jacob, Lin Z. Li, He N. Xu*: Relationship between optical redox status and reactive oxygen species in cancer cells. React Oxyg Species. Cell Med Press, 9(26): 95-108, Mar 2020 Notes: *corresponding author.
Xu, He N.*, Tchou, Julia., Feng, Min, Zhao, Huaqing, Li, Lin Z*. : Optical redox imaging indices discriminate human breast cancer from normal tissues. J Biomed Opt 21: 114003, 2016 Notes: *corresponding author.
Xu, He N., Nioka, Shoko, Glickson, Jerry D., Chance, Britton, Li, Lin Z.: Quantitative mitochondrial redox imaging of breast cancer metastatic potential. J Biomed Opt. SPIE, 15(3): 036010, 2010.
Li, L. Z., Zhou, R., Xu, H. N., Moon, L., Zhong, T., Kim, E. J., Qiao, H., Reddy, R., Leeper, D., Chance, B., Glickson, J. D.: Quantitative magnetic resonance and optical imaging biomarkers of melanoma metastatic potential. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106(16): 6608-13, 2009.