2025 Research Award Winner Announced: Dr. Tong-You Wei
We are delighted to announce the winner of Team PHenomenal Hope’s 2025 Research Award winner, Tong-You Wei, PhD!
Dr. Tong-You Wei is a molecular biologist at the University of California San Diego. His research focuses on the mechanisms that drive inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), with a particular emphasis on innate immune signaling and vascular remodeling. His current work investigates how the deubiquitinase BRCC3 regulates the immune adaptor protein TIFA, modulating noncanonical TGF-β signaling to preserve endothelial function. His goal is to identify therapeutic strategies targeting this signaling axis to improve outcomes for patients with PAH.
Dr. Wei won the 2025 Team PH Research Award for his submission, “BRCC3 Mitigates TIFA-Driven Noncanonical TGF-β Signaling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.”
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening condition that damages the blood vessels in the lungs and strains the heart. My research focuses on how inflammation contributes to this damage, especially within the cells that line the blood vessels. We study two key proteins: TIFA, which triggers harmful inflammatory signals, and BRCC3, which helps block those signals and protect the blood vessels. By understanding how BRCC3 works to preserve lung function, we aim to discover new approaches that could slow or stop the progression of PAH and prevent further damage to the lungs and heart.
This is the seventh year Team PH has contributed to furthering research in the field of PH. Learn about past years’ winners at our research award website here. We look forward to hearing from Dr. Wei in 2026 on the findings of his research.
Stay tuned for our PH Awareness Month webinars to hear from last year’s winner, Dr. Jason Weatherald, on his findings from his award winning study, “A feasibility trial for the Canadian Right ventricular AdaptiVE (CRAVE) platform trial of therapies targeting right ventricular failure.”
Congratulations!!! Thank you for all your work Dr. Tong-You Wei!!! I’m excited about your research!!!