Song Lab

Thrilled to share that our PhD student Yujia Lu has been awarded the Rose Fellowship! This is an incredible recognition of their hard work, creativity, and potential. Huge congratulations — we’re so proud of you!

🎥 We’re excited to share our new video introducing the Song Lab! Hear from a few members of our team as they talk about our research and what it’s like to be part of our lab community. Whether you’re a fellow researcher, student, or simply curious about our work, we hope you enjoy this glimpse into life at the Song Lab. Special thanks to @HarvardEpi and everyone who has contributed to our work! @MingyangSong3, Markus Dines Knudsen, @wangkaiepi, Mengxi Du, Ana Nogal, Yujia Lu, Heather Andrews, Chen Wang, MD MSc, Xinyu Wang #Research #Science #Innovation #SongLab

Study in Progress: Investigating Coffee and Cancer Survivorship We are pleased to provide an update on our ongoing clinical research at Massachusetts General Hospital. The COMMENCER trial (COffee and Metabolites Modulating the Gut MicrobiomE in Colorectal caNCER) is a double-blind, placebo-controlled study examining how coffee consumption may affect metabolic health, the gut microbiome, and survivorship in people with colorectal cancer. At this stage, we are still enrolling participants and collecting data, with more than 20 individuals enrolled so far. As enrollment and data collection continue, we look forward to sharing findings in the future. We are grateful to our research team, collaborators, and especially our participants for making this work possible! @HarvardEpi @HarvardChanSPH @MingyangSong3 #CancerResearch #CoffeeScience #GutMicrobiome #ColorectalCancer #HarvardChan #MGH #ClinicalTrials

New Research on Traditional Serrated Adenomas and Colorectal Cancer Risk! 🌟 Excited to share important new findings from our team! Our lab member, Dr. Yufeng Chen, is first author on a newly published study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology that sheds light on the risks associated with traditional serrated adenomas (TSAs). Analyzing data from over 109,000 colonoscopies, the study revealed that patients with TSAs are at substantially increased risk of developing subsequent high-risk polyps and colorectal cancer compared to those without polyps. Importantly, the risk is highest within the first three years after TSA removal. Key takeaway: This research supports the current guidelines recommending three-year surveillance colonoscopies after TSA removal to help prevent colorectal cancer. Congratulations to Yufeng & collaborators! Proud to see our research contributing to improved colorectal cancer prevention. @HarvardEpi @HarvardChanSPH @MingyangSong3 Read more: journals.lww.com/ajg/abstract/9… #SongLab #ColorectalCancer #GI #Endoscopy

Exciting news from the Throne Holst Symposium at the University of Oslo’s Department of Nutrition! 🎉 This year, Markus Dines Knudsen—nominated by Anette Hjartåker, research group leader of Nutritional Epidemiology—was awarded Best Article of the Year by a Young Scientist for his paper published in JAMA Oncology: "Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Mortality After Negative Colonoscopy Screening Results." This important research was a collaboration between the Song Lab at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and our colleagues in Oslo. The committee highlighted the study for advancing clinical practice guidelines, demonstrating the impact of international collaboration, and publishing in a leading journal. Congratulations, Markus! We’re proud to be part of research that helps shape the future of nutrition and cancer epidemiology. @HarvardChanSPH @HarvardEpi @MingyangSong3 @NCICancerCtrl @AmericanCancer #InternationalCollaboration #CancerEpidemiology

Colorectal polyps are increasingly being found in adults under 50. This concerning trend may help explain the rising number of colorectal cancer cases in younger individuals. At this year's Digestive Disease Week (DDW), Song Lab visiting scholar Yufeng Chen presented research showing that people under 50 who develop colorectal polyps face a similar risk of progression as older adults. What does this mean? Timely screening and ongoing monitoring are just as important for younger adults—not just those over 50. As we learn more about what’s driving earlier onset of colorectal cancer, these findings underscore the need to reconsider how and when we screen. #DDW2025 #ColorectalCancer #DigestiveHealth #CancerScreening #EarlyDetection #PublicHealth #CancerResearch @HarvardEpi @MingyangSong3 @DDWMeeting

Yesterday, Markus Dines Knudsen and Song Lab PI @MingyangSong3 shared compelling findings on how adopting healthier lifestyle habits after a colonoscopy screening could lower the risk of colorectal cancer and other major chronic diseases. #DDW2025 Their research highlights the powerful role of prevention and behavior change in long-term health outcomes. @HarvardEpi @DDWMeeting #CancerPrevention #ColorectalCancer #PublicHealth

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle after a colorectal cancer diagnosis is linked to a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. These findings highlight the importance of integrating lifestyle interventions into oncology care to improve cardiovascular health among survivors. Learn more about Song Lab member Mengxi Du's research findings at Digestive Disease Week 2025! #DDW2025 #CardiovascularHealth #OncologyCare #CardioOncology @HarvardEpi @MingyangSong3 @DDWMeeting

Why is colorectal cancer risk still high after adenoma removal? The gut microbiome and its metabolites might hold the answer! Dive into our findings with Ana Nogal at #DDW2025. #Microbiome #CRC

This May, we are proud to feature @SongLabHarvard over the coming weeks 🎉 The Song Lab, founded in 2018 by Principal Investigator @MingyangSong3, focuses on the clinical & translational epidemiology of #colorectalcancer Follow us to learn more about the lab all month long

Kai Wang will deliver two talks at Digestive Disease Week 2025 #DDW2025: May 3 at 2:15 PM (Room 29CD): Exploring how diet shapes fecal bile acid profiles and impacts colorectal neoplasia risk. May 4 at 11:00 AM (Room 28DE) — AGA Basic Science Plenary: Unveiling how the gut microbiome drives bile acid metabolism through a multiomics analysis involving metagenomics, metabolomics, and proteomics. His work bridges diet, microbiome, and cancer prevention. If you’re attending DDW, you won’t want to miss these sessions! @HarvardEpi @MingyangSong3 #Microbiome #BileAcids #CancerPrevention #GutHealth #ColorectalCancer

🔬 Presentation Spotlight | #DDW2025 🔬 Song Lab member Xinyu Wang will be presenting in the GI Oncology Plenary session at Digestive Disease Week 2025 on May 4. She’ll share findings on how the metabolomic signature of ultra-processed food (UPF) intake was linked to a higher risk of developing polyps, including conventional adenoma and serrated polyps. Our findings offer biological insights into the link between ultra-processed food and the early stages of colorectal neoplasia. We’re excited to support her and share this work with the GI research community. @HarvardEpi @HarvardChanSPH @MingyangSong3 #DDW2025 #Metabolomics #UPF #ColorectalCancer #NutritionalEpidemiology #CancerPrevention #GIOncology

Our lab is headed to sunny San Diego for #DDW2025 May 3–6! 🌴 We’re presenting exciting new research on GI cancer prevention, the microbiome, metabolomics, and more. Catch us on site or online at @DDWMeeting! We’ll be sharing more details about our presentations in the weeks leading up to and throughout the conference—stay tuned! 🔍 #GastroResearch #Microbiome #CancerPrevention @AndyChanMD @wangkaiepi @HarvardEpi @HarvardChanSPH @MingyangSong3 @HSPHCancerEpi

New Seminar Alert 🚨 Join us on Friday, March 21 at 2:00pm EST for Dr. Marc Gunter's presentation on "Metabolic Dysfunction and Cancer: New Insights from Molecular Epidemiology and Interventional Approaches" Attend in person or virtually. Register now ⬇️ harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9y…

We’re excited to announce that 10 researchers from the Song Lab will present their work at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2025! Our efforts in GI research and cancer epidemiology focus on translating findings into future real-world impact. Key focus areas include: -The impact of lifestyle changes post-colonoscopy on colorectal cancer and chronic diseases. -Metabolomic signatures of ultra-processed foods and their cancer associations. -Gut microbiome insights along the adenoma-carcinoma continuum. Our team's commitment goes beyond advancing scientific knowledge—it aims to create tangible benefits for public health. We're looking forward to #DDW2025. Hope to see you there! @AndyChanMD @wangkaiepi @HSPHCancerEpi @HarvardEpi @HarvardChanSPH @MingyangSong3 @HSPHCancer #CancerResearch #ColorectalCancer #RealWorldImpact #GutMicrobiome #DDW2025

We're honored to be featured in the Harvard Gazette for our recent journal article on colorectal cancer screening. @MingyangSong3 @AndyChanMD @wangkaiepi @HSPHCancerEpi @HarvardEpi @HarvardChanSPH Our findings have significant implications for personalized healthcare: Individuals with a clean colonoscopy might extend their screening intervals beyond 10 years, depending on lifestyle risk factors and family history. This framework helps refocus healthcare resources on those at greater risk—those who've never been screened and disadvantaged groups with traditionally lower screening rates. We're grateful to the Harvard Gazette for highlighting our efforts. You can read the article here: news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/… #HarvardGazette #ColorectalCancer #ResearchHighlight #PublicHealth #Healthcare

Our latest publication in JAMA Oncology, done in collaboration with the University of Oslo's Department of Nutrition, sheds light on colorectal cancer screening. Our findings suggest that the rescreening interval after a negative colonoscopy could be extended beyond 10 years, especially for low-risk individuals. 📈🔬 @markusdinesknudsen @wangkaiepi @YPolychronidis @PaulaBerstad @HjartakerAnette @gigifang925 @shuji_ogino @AndyChanMD @MingyangSong3 @HarvardEpi We found that a negative colonoscopy significantly reduced colorectal cancer incidence for 20 years! By analyzing risk factors such as age, family history, and lifestyle, we discovered that those with a low-risk score had similar colorectal cancer rates at 25 years as high-risk individuals did at 10 years post-screening. Learn more about how personalized screening intervals can optimize colorectal cancer prevention: jamanetwork.com/journals/jamao… #CancerResearch #ColorectalCancer #Screening #JAMAOncology

🌟 Exciting News from Our Lab! 🌟 We’re thrilled to share our latest collaborative research with the Segata Lab @cibiocm published in Nature Microbiology! Our study reveals a fascinating connection between coffee consumption and the abundance of the gut microorganism Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus. ☕️🦠 @wangkaiepi @AmrishaBhosle @paolo_manghi @chuttenh @nsegata @HarvardEpi @NatureMicrobiol @MingyangSong3 🔬We conducted a comprehensive multi-cohort, multi-omic analysis of over 22,000 participants from the US and UK, complemented by public data from 211 cohorts. The results? A strikingly reproducible link between coffee consumption and gut microbiome composition! 📊Check out the full open-access paper to delve deeper into our findings: nature.com/articles/s4156… #Microbiome #Coffee #GutHealth #Research #OpenAccess #NatureMicrobiology

Despite known associations between visceral fat and cancer, measuring it with MRI is costly. In a new publication from the Song Lab, we introduce a clinically accessible formula to estimate visceral fat, revealing strong links to cancer risk beyond traditional metrics like BMI. @MingyangSong3 @YujiaLuYL @wangkaiepi #CancerResearch #VisceralFat #HealthInnovation #no-access-message" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">academic.oup.com/jnci/advance-a…