• Department of Pathology
  • Pathology Staff
• Department of Laboratory Medicine
  • Laboratory Medicine Staff
• Affiliated Hospitals
  • Moffitt-Long
  • Mount Zion Medical Center
  • San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center
  • San Francisco General
• Faculty
  • Pathology
  • Laboratory Medicine

Research and Clinical Interests

My research focuses on viral hepatitis, with the goals of understanding viral pathogenesis and identifying novel drug targets. Recently, we have developed a novel transgenic mouse model of hepatocarcinogenesis induced by hepatitis B virus (HBV), and we are currently determining the molecular mechanisms involved. We are also characterizing a novel transcription factor that is up-regulated by the unfolded protein response and activates one of the major HBV promoters. My clinical interest is in renal pathology and electron microscopy.

Selected Publications

• Schwer B, Ren S, Kartenback J, Kaehlcke K, Pietschmann T, Bartenschlager R, Yen TSB, Ott M: Targeting of hepatitis C virus core protein to mitochondria through a novel C-terminal localization motif. J Virol, 78:7958-7968, 2004.
• Xu Z, Chen L, Leung L, Yen TS, Lee C, Chan JY. Liver-specific inactivation of the Nrf1 gene in adult mouse leads to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatic neoplasia. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 102:4120-5, 2005.
• Huang ZM, Tan T, Yoshida H, Mori K, Ma Y, Yen TSB. Activation of Hepatitis B Virus S Promoter by a Cell-Type Restricted IRE1-Dependent Pathway Induced by Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress. Mol Cell Biol, 25:7522-7533, 2005.
• Zheng Y, Chen WL, Louie SG, Yen TSB, Ou JHJ. Hepatitis B virus promotes hepatocarcinogenesis in transgenic mice. Hepatology, in press.

Selected Awards

• 2002-06 Guest (Honorary) Professor, Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Xian, China
• 2003-06 President, Northern California Chapter of Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America
• 2005 Bruce Witte Distinguished Speaker, Hepatitis B Foundation
• 2005 Invited Speaker, Fourth Sino-US Symposium on Medicine in 21st Century
• 2006 Invited Speaker, AASLD Conference on Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and Other Liver Diseases Caused by Aggregated Proteins
• 2006 Invited Speaker, Symposium on New Horizons of Molecular Biology, Kanazawa University
• 2006 Organizer, International Meeting on Molecular Biology of Hepatitis B Viruses
• 2006 Co-Chair, Local Organizing Committee, XI International Symposium of Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America

• Professor and Vice Chair
• Pathology
• Renal pathology, autopsy pathology

Specialty Area

Renal pathology

Contact Information

• ben.yen@ucsf.edu
• Phone: 415-476-5334
• Fax: 415-750-6947

• 4150 Clement St
• Pathology 113B
• San Francisco, CA 94121

Other UCSF Organizational Association(s)

Professional Faculty

• Program in Molecular Medicine, UCSF

Executive Committee Member

• UCSF Liver Center

Faculty

• Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, UCSF

Member

• Member, Comprehensive Cancer Center

Chief of Pathology

• VA Medical Center, San Francisco

Scientific Director

• Microscopy and Advanced Imaging Facility, VA Medical Center

Hospital Affiliation(s)

• Moffitt-Long
• Veterans Administration