Meng-Ju is originally from Taiwan and studied Life Science (B.S.) and Oral Biology (M.S.) at the National Yang-Ming University. He earned his Ph.D. at Purdue University, focusing on epigenetic mechanisms regulating cell plasticity and fate in normal and cancerous stem cells.

Afterward, Meng-Ju joined Dr. Nabeel Bardeesy's lab to study the biology of IDH1 mutant intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, a deadly malignancy. Funded by fellowships from the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation and the American Cancer Society, he developed novel genetically engineered mouse models to define molecular circuits deregulated by IDH1 mutations and investigate the impact of IDH inhibition. His research revealed that this oncogene causes an immune-evasion phenotype via defective epigenetic control of tumor cell sensitivity to interferon-gamma (Wu et al., Cancer Discovery, 2022). Meng-Ju has been working to identify novel mechanisms by which mIDH1 inhibition triggers immune surveillance, linking impaired innate immune sensing in mIDH1 cancers by collaborating with Dr. Robert Manguso at the Broad Institute. His recent findings reveal that mIDH1 inhibitors re-express transposable elements, triggering a "viral mimicry" response that enhances immune activation (Wu et al, Science, 2024).

In October 2024, Meng-Ju will join the Gastroenterology Division at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School as an Assistant Professor to start his independent lab.