Ping Guan, Ph.D.
Dr. Ping Guan is a Program Director in the Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research Branch (BBRB) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). She plays a leading role in planning and designing research programs at the branch and contributes to cross-functional team work to support the Cancer Diagnosis Program's initiatives.
Dr. Guan has a broad expertise in biomedical research in developing and managing projects related to pre-analytic impacts on downstream molecular analysis. This expertise is invaluable for BBRB's Biospecimen Preanalytical Variables (BPV) program. She has managed large scale biobanking efforts for NIH common fund project GTEx (Genotype Tissue Expression) and Cancer Moonshot Biobank, and led in data dissemination and specimen distribution. Her interdisciplinary expertise includes Genomics, Bioinformatics, Systems Biology, and Translational Sciences.
Dr. Guan gained rich experience and a strong background in therapeutic research through 13 years at the private sector. Prior to joining NCI in 2012, she worked at Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) at Merck Pharmaceuticals. There she led biomarker discovery and validation for drug safety assessment through genome-wide expression profiling and comprehensive analysis on a systems biology scale. She was among the scientists who deciphered the first human genome when she worked at Celera Genomics and collaborated with world-renowned genome experts in annotating the genomes of model organisms, including Drosophila, mouse, and rat.
Dr. Guan received her trainings in human Molecular Genetics (Ph.D.) and Computer Science (M.Sc).
Selected Publications
- Schoenfeld JD, Azad NS, Gross J, et al. Next-Generation Sequencing-Based MSI Scoring Predicts Benefit in Mismatch Repair-Deficient Tumors Treated with Nivolumab: Follow-up on NCI-MATCH Arm Z1D. Clin Cancer Res. 2025;31(4):667-677. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-24-0427
- Branton PA, Sobin L, Barcus M, et al. Notable Histologic Findings in a "Normal" Cohort: The National Institutes of Health Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project. Arch Pathol Lab Med. Published online April 27, 2024. doi:10.5858/arpa.2023-0468-OA
- Wehmas LC, Wood CE, Guan P, Gosink M, Hester SD. Organocatalyst treatment improves variant calling and mutant detection in archival clinical samples. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):6509. Published 2022 Apr 20. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-10301-0
- Guan P, Olaharski A, Fielden M, Roome N, Dragan Y, Sina J. Biomarkers of carcinogenicity and their roles in drug discovery and development. Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol. 2008;1(6):759-771. doi:10.1586/17512433.1.6.759
- Guan P, Burghes AH, Cunningham A, et al. Genomic organization and biological characterization of the novel human CC chemokine DC-CK-1/PARC/MIP-4/SCYA18. Genomics. 1999;56(3):296-302. doi:10.1006/geno.1998.5635
Additional Links to Scientific Publications
Education
- Ph. D. Molecular Genetics, the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
- MSc. Computer Sciences, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
- MSc. Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- BS, Biology, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China