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HUGO BELLEN

TitleDistinguished Service Professor
InstitutionBaylor College of Medicine
DepartmentDepartment of Molecular & Human Genetics
AddressOne Baylor Plaza
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    Other Positions
    TitleDistinguished Service Professor
    InstitutionBaylor College of Medicine
    DepartmentDepartment of Neuroscience
    DivisionNeuroscience


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    Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of Medicine
    Professor, Departments of Molecular and Human Genetics and Neuroscience
    Director, Program in Developmental Biology

    I am interested in (1) providing a better fundamental understanding of the biology that governs the proper function and maintenance of neurons in aging adults (2) developing tools that can be applied to most genes to control transcript and protein levels in adult neurons to assess which proteins are required for neuronal survival and proper function (3) creating genome wide libraries to manipulate most genes in vivo. My lab uses the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system because most biological processes are evolutionarily conserved and studies in fruit flies provide many important clues about the aging process in animals and human diseases.

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    U2CNS132415     (KOHANE, ISAAC S.)Apr 19, 2023 - Mar 31, 2028
    NIH
    Diagnosing the Unknown for Care and Advancing Science (DUCAS)
    Role: Co-Principal Investigator
    R01AG073260     (BELLEN, HUGO J)Sep 1, 2021 - May 31, 2026
    NIH
    IMPACTS OF GLIAL LIPID DROPLETS ON OXIDATIVE STRESS AND NEURODEGENERATION IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
    Role: Principal Investigator
    R01HG011795     (BELLEN, HUGO J)Jul 13, 2021 - Apr 30, 2026
    NIH
    Genomic medicine and gene function implementation for an underserved population
    Role: Principal Investigator
    R24OD031447     (BELLEN, HUGO J)Jul 1, 2021 - Mar 31, 2029
    NIH
    A Comprehensive Resource for Manipulating and Characterizing the Drosophila Genome
    Role: Principal Investigator
    U01AG072439     (SHULMAN, JOSHUA M)Jul 1, 2021 - Jun 30, 2026
    NIH
    Functional Genomic Dissection of Alzheimer's Disease in Humans and Drosophila Models
    Role: Co-Principal Investigator
    R24OD026435     (PERRIMON, NORBERT)Jul 1, 2018 - Jun 30, 2022
    NIH
    Using CRISPR technology to study the function of paralogous genes
    Role: Co-Principal Investigator
    R01DC014932     (GROVES, ANDREW K)Dec 1, 2016 - Nov 30, 2021
    NIH
    A multi-species approach to find regulators of deafness genes
    Role: Co-Principal Investigator
    R24OD022005     (BELLEN, HUGO J)Jun 1, 2016 - May 31, 2025
    NIH
    A Human cDNA Library for Functional Gene Replacement in Drosophila
    Role: Principal Investigator
    U54NS093793     (BELLEN, HUGO J)Sep 15, 2015 - Jun 30, 2023
    NIH
    Center for functional analysis of human UDN gene homologs in Drosophila and zebrafish
    Role: Principal Investigator
    RC4GM096355     (BELLEN, HUGO J.)Sep 30, 2010 - Sep 29, 2013
    NIH
    Mapping and rescuing EMS-induced lethal mutations on the Drosophila X Chromosome
    Role: Principal Investigator
    R01GM080415     (BELLEN, HUGO J.)Aug 1, 2007 - Nov 30, 2010
    NIH
    Molecularly defined duplications for the X-chromosome and large autosomal genes
    Role: Principal Investigator
    T32HD055200     (BELLEN, HUGO J.)Jun 5, 2007 - Apr 30, 2013
    NIH
    Developmental Biology Training Program
    Role: Principal Investigator
    R01GM068949     (BELLEN, HUGO J)Jul 1, 2003 - Jun 30, 2007
    NIH
    Hrs and Endocytic Regulation of Notch and Wingless
    Role: Principal Investigator
    R01GM067858     (BELLEN, HUGO J)May 1, 2003 - May 31, 2021
    NIH
    A Comprehensive Resource for Manipulating the Drosophila Genome
    Role: Principal Investigator
    T32ES007332     (BELLEN, HUGO J)Jul 1, 2000 - Jun 30, 2007
    NIH
    DEVELOPMENT BIOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAM
    Role: Principal Investigator
    R01GM053571     (BELLEN, HUGO J)Jul 1, 1996 - Jun 30, 2001
    NIH
    NEUROTRANSMITTER RELEASE IN DROSOPHILA
    Role: Principal Investigator

    Collapse Bibliographic 
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    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Park YJ, Lu TC, Jackson T, Goodman LD, Ran L, Chen J, Liang CY, Harrison E, Ko C, Chen X, Wang B, Hsu AL, Ochoa E, Bieniek KF, Yamamoto S, Zhu Y, Zheng H, Qi Y, Bellen HJ, Li H. Distinct systemic impacts of A?42 and Tau revealed by whole-organism snRNA-seq. Neuron. 2025 Jul 09; 113(13):2065-2082.e8. PMID: 40381615; PMCID: PMC12245608.
      Citations: 3     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    2. Wang CY, Zuo Z, Jo J, Kim KI, Madamba C, Ye Q, Jung SY, Bellen HJ, Lee HK. Daam2 phosphorylation by CK2a negatively regulates Wnt activity during white matter development and injury. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 08 29; 120(35):e2304112120. PMID: 37607236; PMCID: PMC10469030.
      Citations: 4     Fields:    Translation:Cells
    3. Chung HL, Ye Q, Park YJ, Zuo Z, Mok JW, Kanca O, Tattikota SG, Lu S, Perrimon N, Lee HK, Bellen HJ. Very-long-chain fatty acids induce glial-derived sphingosine-1-phosphate synthesis, secretion, and neuroinflammation. Cell Metab. 2023 05 02; 35(5):855-874.e5. PMID: 37084732; PMCID: PMC10160010.
      Citations: 30     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    4. Tepe B, Macke EL, Niceta M, Weisz Hubshman M, Kanca O, Schultz-Rogers L, Zarate YA, Schaefer GB, Granadillo De Luque JL, Wegner DJ, Cogne B, Gilbert-Dussardier B, Le Guillou X, Wagner EJ, Pais LS, Neil JE, Mochida GH, Walsh CA, Magal N, Drasinover V, Shohat M, Schwab T, Schmitz C, Clark K, Fine A, Lanpher B, Gavrilova R, Blanc P, Burglen L, Afenjar A, Steel D, Kurian MA, Prabhakar P, G??wein S, Di Donato N, Bertini ES, Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Wangler MF, Yamamoto S, Tartaglia M, Klee EW, Bellen HJ. Bi-allelic variants in INTS11 are associated with a complex neurological disorder. Am J Hum Genet. 2023 05 04; 110(5):774-789. PMID: 37054711; PMCID: PMC10183469.
      Citations: 14     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    5. Thomas AX, Link N, Robak LA, Demmler-Harrison G, Pao EC, Squire AE, Michels S, Cohen JS, Comi A, Prontera P, Verrotti di Pianella A, Di Cara G, Garavelli L, Caraffi SG, Fusco C, Zuntini R, Parks KC, Sherr EH, Hashem MO, Maddirevula S, Alkuraya FS, Contractar IAF, Neil JE, Walsh CA, Bellen HJ, Chao HT, Clark RD, Mirzaa GM. ANKLE2-related microcephaly: A variable microcephaly syndrome resembling Zika infection. Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2022 08; 9(8):1276-1288. PMID: 35871307; PMCID: PMC9380164.
      Citations: 10     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    6. Cristobal CD, Wang CY, Zuo Z, Smith JA, Lindeke-Myers A, Bellen HJ, Lee HK. Daam2 Regulates Myelin Structure and the Oligodendrocyte Actin Cytoskeleton through Rac1 and Gelsolin. J Neurosci. 2022 03 02; 42(9):1679-1691. PMID: 35101966; PMCID: PMC8896627.
      Citations: 12     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    7. Ding X, Jo J, Wang CY, Cristobal CD, Zuo Z, Ye Q, Wirianto M, Lindeke-Myers A, Choi JM, Mohila CA, Kawabe H, Jung SY, Bellen HJ, Yoo SH, Lee HK. The Daam2-VHL-Nedd4 axis governs developmental and regenerative oligodendrocyte differentiation. Genes Dev. 2020 09 01; 34(17-18):1177-1189. PMID: 32792353; PMCID: PMC7462057.
      Citations: 23     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    8. Li X, Yang L, Mao Z, Pan X, Zhao Y, Gu X, Eckel-Mahan K, Zuo Z, Tong Q, Hartig SM, Cheng X, Du G, Moore DD, Bellen HJ, Sesaki H, Sun K. Novel role of dynamin-related-protein 1 in dynamics of ER-lipid droplets in adipose tissue. FASEB J. 2020 06; 34(6):8265-8282. PMID: 32294302; PMCID: PMC7336545.
      Citations: 13     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    9. Chung HL, Wangler MF, Marcogliese PC, Jo J, Ravenscroft TA, Zuo Z, Duraine L, Sadeghzadeh S, Li-Kroeger D, Schmidt RE, Pestronk A, Rosenfeld JA, Burrage L, Herndon MJ, Chen S, Members of Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Shillington A, Vawter-Lee M, Hopkin R, Rodriguez-Smith J, Henrickson M, Lee B, Moser AB, Jones RO, Watkins P, Yoo T, Mar S, Choi M, Bucelli RC, Yamamoto S, Lee HK, Prada CE, Chae JH, Vogel TP, Bellen HJ. Loss- or Gain-of-Function Mutations in ACOX1 Cause Axonal Loss via Different Mechanisms. Neuron. 2020 05 20; 106(4):589-606.e6. PMID: 32169171; PMCID: PMC7289150.
      Citations: 69     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    10. Splinter K, Adams DR, Bacino CA, Bellen HJ, Bernstein JA, Cheatle-Jarvela AM, Eng CM, Esteves C, Gahl WA, Hamid R, Jacob HJ, Kikani B, Koeller DM, Kohane IS, Lee BH, Loscalzo J, Luo X, McCray AT, Metz TO, Mulvihill JJ, Nelson SF, Palmer CGS, Phillips JA, Pick L, Postlethwait JH, Reuter C, Shashi V, Sweetser DA, Tifft CJ, Walley NM, Wangler MF, Westerfield M, Wheeler MT, Wise AL, Worthey EA, Yamamoto S, Ashley EA, Undiagnosed Diseases Network. Effect of Genetic Diagnosis on Patients with Previously Undiagnosed Disease. N Engl J Med. 2018 11 29; 379(22):2131-2139. PMID: 30304647; PMCID: PMC6481166.
      Citations: 97     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    11. Marcogliese PC, Shashi V, Spillmann RC, Stong N, Rosenfeld JA, Koenig MK, Herzog M, Chen AH, Dickson PI, Lin HJ, Vera MU, Salamon N, Graham JM, Ortiz D, Infante E, Steyaert W, Dermaut B, Poppe B, Chung HL, Zuo Z, Lee PT, Kanca O, Xia F, Yang Y, Smith EC, Jasien J, Kansagra S, Spiridigliozzi G, El-Dairi M, Lark R, Riley K, Koeberl DD, Golden-Grant K, Program for Undiagnosed Diseases (UD-PrOZA), Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Yamamoto S, Wangler MF, Mirzaa G, Hemelsoet D, Lee B, Nelson SF, Goldstein DB, Bellen HJ, Pena LDM, Mart?nez-Agosto JA. IRF2BPL Is Associated with Neurological Phenotypes. Am J Hum Genet. 2018 08 02; 103(2):245-260. PMID: 30057031; PMCID: PMC6081494.
      Citations: 25     Fields:    
    12. Yoon WH, Thompson K, Jangam S, Fernandez L, Davidson JM, Kyle JE, Grove ME, Fisk DG, Kohler JN, Holmes M, Dries AM, Huang Y, Zhao C, Zappala Z, Waggott D, Zink EM, Kim YM, Heyman HM, Stratton KG, Webb-Robertson BM, Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Snyder M, Merker JD, Montgomery SB, Fisher PG, Mayr JA, Hall J, Barbosa IA, Simpson MA, Deshpande C, Waters KM, Koeller DM, Metz TO, Morris AA, Schelley S, Cowan T, Friederich MW, McFarland R, Van Hove JLK, Enns GM, Yamamoto S, Ashley EA, Wangler MF, Taylor RW, Bellen HJ, Bernstein JA, Wheeler MT, Ol?hov? M, Contrepois K, Fr?sard L, Feichtinger RG. Biallelic Mutations in ATP5F1D, which Encodes a Subunit of ATP Synthase, Cause a Metabolic Disorder. Am J Hum Genet. 2018 03 01; 102(3):494-504. PMID: 29478781; PMCID: PMC6117612.
      Citations: 33     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    13. Liu L, MacKenzie KR, Putluri N, Maletic-Savatic M, Bellen HJ. The Glia-Neuron Lactate Shuttle and Elevated ROS Promote Lipid Synthesis in Neurons and Lipid Droplet Accumulation in Glia via APOE/D. Cell Metab. 2017 Nov 07; 26(5):719-737.e6. PMID: 28965825; PMCID: PMC5677551.
      Citations: 131     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    14. Luo X, Rosenfeld JA, Yamamoto S, Harel T, Zuo Z, Hall M, Wierenga KJ, Pastore MT, Bartholomew D, Delgado MR, Rotenberg J, Lewis RA, Emrick L, Bacino CA, Eldomery MK, Coban Akdemir Z, Xia F, Yang Y, Lalani SR, Lotze T, Lupski JR, Lee B, Bellen HJ, Wangler MF, Members of the UDN. Clinically severe CACNA1A alleles affect synaptic function and neurodegeneration differentially. PLoS Genet. 2017 Jul; 13(7):e1006905. PMID: 28742085; PMCID: PMC5557584.
      Citations: 36     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    15. Wang J, Al-Ouran R, Hu Y, Kim SY, Wan YW, Wangler MF, Yamamoto S, Chao HT, Comjean A, Mohr SE, UDN, Perrimon N, Liu Z, Bellen HJ. MARRVEL: Integration of Human and Model Organism Genetic Resources to Facilitate Functional Annotation of the Human Genome. Am J Hum Genet. 2017 Jun 01; 100(6):843-853. PMID: 28502612; PMCID: PMC5670038.
      Citations: 82     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    16. Chao HT, Davids M, Burke E, Pappas JG, Rosenfeld JA, McCarty AJ, Davis T, Wolfe L, Toro C, Tifft C, Xia F, Stong N, Johnson TK, Warr CG, Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Yamamoto S, Adams DR, Markello TC, Gahl WA, Bellen HJ, Wangler MF, Malicdan MCV. A Syndromic Neurodevelopmental Disorder Caused by De Novo Variants in EBF3. Am J Hum Genet. 2017 Jan 05; 100(1):128-137. PMID: 28017372; PMCID: PMC5223093.
      Citations: 50     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    17. Harel T, Yoon WH, Garone C, Gu S, Coban-Akdemir Z, Eldomery MK, Posey JE, Jhangiani SN, Rosenfeld JA, Cho MT, Fox S, Withers M, Brooks SM, Chiang T, Duraine L, Erdin S, Yuan B, Shao Y, Moussallem E, Lamperti C, Donati MA, Smith JD, McLaughlin HM, Eng CM, Walkiewicz M, Xia F, Pippucci T, Magini P, Seri M, Zeviani M, Hirano M, Hunter JV, Srour M, Zanigni S, Lewis RA, Muzny DM, Lotze TE, Boerwinkle E, Baylor-Hopkins Center for Mendelian Genomics, University of Washington Center for Mendelian Genomics, Gibbs RA, Hickey SE, Graham BH, Yang Y, Buhas D, Martin DM, Potocki L, Graziano C, Bellen HJ, Lupski JR. Recurrent De Novo and Biallelic Variation of ATAD3A, Encoding a Mitochondrial Membrane Protein, Results in Distinct Neurological Syndromes. Am J Hum Genet. 2016 Oct 06; 99(4):831-845. PMID: 27640307; PMCID: PMC5065660.
      Citations: 73     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    18. Li T, Fan J, Giagtzoglou N, Lin G, Yamamoto S, Jaiswal M, Chen K, Zhang J, Wei W, Lewis MT, Groves AK, Westerfield M, Jia J, Bellen HJ, Blanco-S?nchez B. Ubr3, a Novel Modulator of Hh Signaling Affects the Degradation of Costal-2 and Kif7 through Poly-ubiquitination. PLoS Genet. 2016 05; 12(5):e1006054. PMID: 27195754; PMCID: PMC4873228.
      Citations: 11     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    19. Wu SP, Kao CY, Wang L, Creighton CJ, Yang J, Donti TR, Harmancey R, Vasquez HG, Graham BH, Bellen HJ, Taegtmeyer H, Chang CP, Tsai MJ, Tsai SY. Increased COUP-TFII expression in adult hearts induces mitochondrial dysfunction resulting in heart failure. Nat Commun. 2015 Sep 10; 6:8245. PMID: 26356605; PMCID: PMC4568566.
      Citations: 33     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    20. Haelterman NA, Jiang L, Li Y, Bayat V, Sandoval H, Ugur B, Tan KL, Zhang K, Bei D, Xiong B, Charng WL, Busby T, Jawaid A, David G, Jaiswal M, Venken KJ, Yamamoto S, Chen R, Bellen HJ. Large-scale identification of chemically induced mutations in Drosophila melanogaster. Genome Res. 2014 Oct; 24(10):1707-18. PMID: 25258387; PMCID: PMC4199363.
      Citations: 40     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    21. Yamamoto S, Jaiswal M, Charng WL, Gambin T, Karaca E, Mirzaa G, Wiszniewski W, Sandoval H, Haelterman NA, Xiong B, Zhang K, Bayat V, David G, Li T, Chen K, Gala U, Harel T, Pehlivan D, Penney S, Vissers LELM, de Ligt J, Jhangiani SN, Xie Y, Tsang SH, Parman Y, Sivaci M, Battaloglu E, Muzny D, Wan YW, Liu Z, Lin-Moore AT, Clark RD, Curry CJ, Link N, Schulze KL, Boerwinkle E, Dobyns WB, Allikmets R, Gibbs RA, Chen R, Lupski JR, Wangler MF, Bellen HJ. A drosophila genetic resource of mutants to study mechanisms underlying human genetic diseases. Cell. 2014 Sep 25; 159(1):200-214. PMID: 25259927; PMCID: PMC4298142.
      Citations: 168     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    22. Haelterman NA, Yoon WH, Sandoval H, Jaiswal M, Shulman JM, Bellen HJ. A mitocentric view of Parkinson's disease. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2014; 37:137-59. PMID: 24821430; PMCID: PMC4659514.
      Citations: 53     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    23. Wang S, Tan KL, Agosto MA, Xiong B, Yamamoto S, Sandoval H, Jaiswal M, Bayat V, Zhang K, Charng WL, David G, Duraine L, Venkatachalam K, Wensel TG, Bellen HJ. The retromer complex is required for rhodopsin recycling and its loss leads to photoreceptor degeneration. PLoS Biol. 2014 Apr; 12(4):e1001847. PMID: 24781186; PMCID: PMC4004542.
      Citations: 35     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    24. Charng WL, Yamamoto S, Bellen HJ. Shared mechanisms between Drosophila peripheral nervous system development and human neurodegenerative diseases. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2014 Aug; 27:158-64. PMID: 24762652; PMCID: PMC4122633.
      Citations: 13     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    25. Venken KJ, Bellen HJ. Chemical mutagens, transposons, and transgenes to interrogate gene function in Drosophila melanogaster. Methods. 2014 Jun 15; 68(1):15-28. PMID: 24583113; PMCID: PMC4061744.
      Citations: 29     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    26. Charng WL, Yamamoto S, Jaiswal M, Bayat V, Xiong B, Zhang K, Sandoval H, David G, Gibbs S, Lu HC, Chen K, Giagtzoglou N, Bellen HJ. Drosophila Tempura, a novel protein prenyltransferase a subunit, regulates notch signaling via Rab1 and Rab11. PLoS Biol. 2014 Jan; 12(1):e1001777. PMID: 24492843; PMCID: PMC3904817.
      Citations: 27     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    27. Yamamoto S, Schulze KL, Bellen HJ. Introduction to Notch signaling. Methods Mol Biol. 2014; 1187:1-14. PMID: 25053477.
      Citations: 40     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    28. Brown CD, Ma L, Bristow CA, Miller SW, Wagner U, Kheradpour P, Eaton ML, Loriaux P, Sealfon R, Li Z, Ishii H, Spokony RF, Chen J, Hwang L, Cheng C, Auburn RP, Davis MB, Domanus M, Shah PK, Morrison CA, Zieba J, Suchy S, Senderowicz L, Victorsen A, Bild NA, Grundstad AJ, Hanley D, MacAlpine DM, Mannervik M, Venken K, Bellen H, White R, Gerstein M, Russell S, Grossman RL, Ren B, Posakony JW, Kellis M, White KP, N?gre N. A cis-regulatory map of the Drosophila genome. Nature. 2011 Mar 24; 471(7339):527-31. PMID: 21430782; PMCID: PMC3179250.
      Citations: 295     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    29. Yao CK, Lin YQ, Ly CV, Ohyama T, Haueter CM, Moiseenkova-Bell VY, Wensel TG, Bellen HJ. A synaptic vesicle-associated Ca2+ channel promotes endocytosis and couples exocytosis to endocytosis. Cell. 2009 Sep 04; 138(5):947-60. PMID: 19737521; PMCID: PMC2749961.
      Citations: 70     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    30. Rodriguez A, Zhou Z, Tang ML, Meller S, Chen J, Bellen H, Kimbrell DA. Identification of immune system and response genes, and novel mutations causing melanotic tumor formation in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 1996 Jun; 143(2):929-40. PMID: 8725239; PMCID: PMC1207349.
      Citations: 36     Fields:    Translation:Animals
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