Biography

Dr. Hua is a surgeon-scientist and Associate Professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at UTHealth. He began his medical career at Tongji Medical University in China, where he earned his medical degrees and completed his residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. After a few years of practice at Tongji, Dr. Hua moved to UNC Chapel Hill, where he completed a research fellowship in airway immunology and physiology. He then trained at the University of Iowa, completing a surgical internship, a research fellowship, and an additional residency in Otolaryngology.

Following his training, Dr. Hua served on the faculty as a surgeon-scientist at both Duke University and the University of Iowa. In May 2024, he joined the UTHealth Houston Department of Otorhinolaryngology. His clinical expertise centers on diseases and surgical interventions of the nose, sinuses, and airway, including sleep medicine. Notably, he was one of three surgeons involved in a pioneering clinical trial for robotic cochlear implant insertion and holds pending patents for medical devices in sinus and skull base surgery.

Dr. Hua is the author or co-author of numerous abstracts, articles, and presentations and has been invited to speak at national and international conferences. He has held editorial roles for several journals, including Laryngoscope, International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology, Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology, Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology, Acta Oto-Laryngologica, and Scientific Reports, and he is an ad hoc grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health.

Board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Hua is a member of the American Rhinologic Society, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

As a principal investigator, Dr. Hua has secured grants from institutions including the NIH (R01, R21, K12), Duke University, and the University of Iowa to advance his research. His laboratory focuses on understanding the immune mechanisms that drive chronic inflammatory diseases in the head and neck region.

 

Education

MD, Clinical Medicine,
Tongji Medical University
Master of Science, Otolaryngology/Clinical Immunology
Tongji Medical University, China
PhD, Otolaryngology/Clinical Immunology
Tongji Medical University, China
Residency in Otolaryngology, Tongji Hospital
Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, China
Research Scholar, Department of Medicine
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Surgical Intern
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa
Fellowship (Otolaryngology Research)
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa
Residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Advanced Training in Otologic Surgery
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa
Endoscopic skull base surgery training Course
The Ohio State University
Startup Incubator Program for Business, the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, School of Business
The University of Iowa

Areas of Interest

Clinical Interests

The Nose-lung Crosstalk

The human nose plays a major role in protecting the lungs. In addition to filtering, humidifying, and warming inhaled air, the mucosa lining the nose and upper airway forms an important part of the mucosal immune system, serving as the first line of defense against airborne pathogens. We have recently shown that activation of the nasal mucosal system can remotely enhance lung innate and adaptive immunity. The Hua lab is interested in examining the immune mechanisms that connect the nose and lungs. Identifying these mechanisms is expected to advance our understanding of airway mucosal immunology, airway disease pathogenesis, facilitating future nasal vaccine development.

Pathologic Fibrosis in Head and Neck Area

Fibrosis is the formation of excess fibrous tissue in an organ or tissue. Pathological fibrosis is characterized by chronic and excessive deposition of extracellular matrix by pathological fibroblasts and can arise in any organ of the body, ultimately resulting in organ failure. The Hua Lab is interested in pathologic fibrosis in the upper airway including the nose, pharynx (throat), voice box and other head and neck region. Currently, Dr. Hua’s research aims to develop new treatments and preventive measures for endotracheal tube-induced fibrosis by investigating the role of DAMP (damage-associated molecular patterns in its pathogenesis.

Development of intra-operative irrigation-suction for Endoscopic sino-nasal and skull base surgery

The primary goal of this project is to develop an innovative irrigation and suction system designed to efficiently clean the endoscope and surgical field during Endoscopic sino-nasal and skull base surgery (ESNSBS). This system is expected to significantly improve visibility during endoscopic sino-nasal and skull base surgery. It will allow the surgeons to perform continuous transnasal dissection without the need to remove the scope from the nose. It will also free the surgeon’s hands to perform two-handed dissection along the skull base. It will not only shorten the procedural time and improve the efficiency and safety of ESNSBS, but it will also improve surgical supervision by facilitating resident teaching and training. A US patent has been submitted and is currently under examination (Role, primary inventor).

Publications

  1. Hua X*, Cui YH. CT characteristics of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses., Chinese Clinical Journal of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. 2000;14(2):62-64.
  2. Hua X*, Gao Q. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of maxillary sinuses (case report and literature review)., Chinese journal of Otolaryngology and Skull Base Surgery. 2001 January;7(4):223-225.
  3. Chu H, Hua X, Gao Q, Cui Y. Analysis of the reason that patients with chronic sinusitis having a negative CT manifestation, Lin chuang er bi yan hou ke za zhi = Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology. 2001 January 1;15(5):195-196.
  4. Zhang S, Liu Q, Liu Z, Hua X. Expression of extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin in the laryngeal cancer. Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology. 2002 January 1;16(12):643-645.
  5. Zhen H, Gao Q, Cui Y, Hua X, Li H, Feng J. The use of oxymetazoline in nasal endoscopic sinus surgery. Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology. 2003 January 1;17(5):281-282.
  6. McCaskill JG, Chason KD, Hua X, Neuringer IP, Ghio AJ, Funkhouser WK, Tilley SL. Pulmonary immune responses to Propionibacterium acnes in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. 2006 September 1;35(3):347-356.
  7. Hua X, Kovarova M, Chason KD, Nguyen MT, Koller BH, Tilley SL. Enhanced mast cell activation in mice deficient in the A2b adenosine receptor, Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2007 January 22;204(1):117-128.
  8. Tilley SL, Jaradat M, Stapleton C, Dixon D, Hua X, Erikson CJ, McCaskill JG, Chason KD, Liao G, Jania L, Koller BH, Jetten AM. Retinoid-related orphan receptor γ controls immunoglobulin production and Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in the adaptive immune response to allergen, Journal of Immunology. 2007 March 1;178(5):3208-3218.
  9. Hua X, Erikson CJ, Chason KD, Rosebrock CN, Deshpande DA, Penn RB, Tilley SL. Involvement of A1 adenosine receptors and neural pathways in adenosine-induced bronchoconstriction in mice, American Journal of Physiology – Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. 2007 July 1;293(1).
  10. Hua X, Chason KD, Fredholm BB, Deshpande DA, Penn RB, Tilley SL. Adenosine induces airway hyperresponsiveness through activation of A3 receptors on mast cells, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2008 January 1;122(1).
  11. Coffman LG, Brown JC, Johnson DA, Parthasarathy N, D’Agostino RB, Lively MO, Hua X, Tilley SL, Muller-Esterl W, Willingham MC, Torti FM, Torti SV. Cleavage of high-molecular-weight kininogen by elastase and tryptase is inhibited by ferritin, American Journal of Physiology – Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. 2008 March 1;294(3).
  12. Addi AB, Lefort A, Hua X, Libert F, Communi D, Ledent C, Macours P, Tilley SL, Boeynaems JM, Robaye B. Modulation of murine dendritic cell function by adenine nucleotides and adenosine: Involvement of the A2B receptor, European Journal of Immunology. 2008 June 1;38(6):1610-1620.
  13. Xu G, Xia J, Hua X, Zhou H, Yu C, Liu Z, Cai K, Shi J, Li H. Activated mammalian target of rapamycin is associated with T regulatory cell insufficiency in nasal polyps, Respiratory Research. 2009 February 27;10.
  14. Jaspers I, Sheridan PA, Zhang W, Brighton LE, Chason KD, Hua X, Tilley SL. Exacerbation of allergic inflammation in mice exposed to diesel exhaust particles prior to viral infection, Particle and Fibre Toxicology. 2009 August 14;6.
  15. Hua X*, Zeman KL, Zhou B, Hua Q, Senior BA, Tilley SL, Bennett WD. Noninvasive real-time measurement of nasal mucociliary clearance in mice by pinhole gamma scintigraphy, Journal of Applied Physiology. 2010 January 1;108(1):189-196.
  16. Cao P, Hua X, Liu Z, Chu H, Cui Y. [Mast cell and its relation to eosinophilic inflammation in CRSsNP]., Journal of clinical otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery. 2010 October 1;24(20):921-923.
  17. Liu Y, Lu X, Yu HJ, Hua X, Cui YH, Huang SK, Liu Z. The expression of osteopontin and its association with Clara cell 10 kDa protein in allergic rhinitis, Clinical and Experimental Allergy. 2010 November 1;40(11):1632-1641.
  18. Huang Xw, Zhou W, Chen J, Chu Hq, Xiao Cw, Hua X, Zhang P, Li Hq, Cui Yh. [A pilot investigation on serum protein fingerprinting of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Chinese journal of otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery. 2011 January 1;46(6):509-512.
  19. Yang X, Walton W, Cook DN, Hua X, Tilley S, Haskell CA, Horuk R, Blackstock AW, Kirby SL. The chemokine, CCL3, and its receptor, CCR1, mediate thoracic radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis, American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology. 2011 July 1;45(1):127-135.
  20. Hua X, Chason KD, Patel JY, Naselsky WC, Tilley SL. IL-4 amplifies the pro-inflammatory effect of adenosine in human mast cells by changing expression levels of adenosine receptors, PLoS ONE. 2011 September 26;6(9).
  21. Allen IC, Jania CM, Wilson JE, Tekeppe EM, Hua X, Brickey WJ, Kwan M, Koller BH, Tilley SL, Ting JPY. Analysis of NLRP3 in the development of allergic airway disease in mice, Journal of Immunology. 2012 March 15;188(6):2884-2893.
  22. Brickey WJ, Neuringer IP, Walton W, Hua X, Wang EY, Jha S, Sempowski GD, Yang X, Kirby SL, Tilley SL, Ting JPY. MyD88 provides a protective role in long-term radiation-induced lung injury, International Journal of Radiation Biology. 2012 April 1;88(4):335-347.
  23. Hua X*, Naselsky WC, Bennett WD, Ledent C, Senior BA, Tilley SL. Adenosine increases nasal mucociliary clearance rate in mice through A2A and A2B adenosine receptors, Laryngoscope. 2013 February 1;123(2):306-310. *Corresponding author.
  24. Hua X, Chason KD, Jania C, Acosta T, Ledent C, Tilley SL. Gs-Coupled adenosine receptors differentially limit antigen-induced mast cell activation, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 2013 February 1;344(2):426-435.
  25. Li M, Wetzel-Strong SE, Hua X, Tilley SL, Oswald E, Krummel MF, Caron KM. Deficiency of RAMP1 attenuates antigen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in mice, PLoS ONE. 2014 July 10;9(7).
  26. Vijay R, Hua X, Meyerholz DK, Miki Y, Yamamoto K, Gelb M, Murakami M, Perlman S. Critical role of phospholipase A2 group IID in age-related susceptibility to severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV infection, Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2015 October 19;212(11):1851-1868.
  27. Hua X, Naselsky WC, Jania CM, Chason KD, Huang JJ, Doerschuk CM, Graham SM, Senior BA, Tilley SL. Mast cell deficiency limits the development of chronic rhinosinusitis in mice, Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology. 2016 April 1;125(4):290-296.
  28. Hua X, Diggelmann H, Jalukar V, Turek JW, Pagedar NA. Successful Prediction of a Left Nonrecurrent Laryngeal Nerve in a Patient with Right-Sided Aorta and Aberrant Left Subclavian Artery, Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology. 2018 February 1;127(2):124-127.
  29. Hua X, Vijay R, Channappanavar R, Athmer J, Meyerholz DK, Pagedar N, Tilley S, Perlman S. Nasal priming by a murine coronavirus provides protective immunity against lethal heterologous virus pneumonia, JCI insight. 2018 June 7;3(11).
  30. Teitelbaum JI, Grasse C, Quan D, Abi Hachem R, Goldstein BJ, Hua X, Jang DW. General Complications after Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in Smokers: A 2005-2016 NSQIP Analysis, Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol.;2020 Aug 20;3489420952481. PMID: 32819161.
  1. Kong X, Bennett W, Jania C, Chason K, Hua X, Tilley S. Identification of an ATP-P2X7-mast cell pathway mediating ozone-induced bronchial hyperresponsiveness., JCI Insight. 2021 Sep 21:e140207. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.140207. Online ahead of print.
  2. Gantz J, Gantz B, Kaufmann C, Henslee A, Dunn C, Hua X, Hansen M. A Steadier Hand: The First Human Clinical Trial of a Single-use Surgical Robot for Cochlear Implant Electrode Insertion. Otology and Neurotology. November 14, 2022 – Volume – Issue – 10.1097/MAO.0000000000003749
  3. Waldstein K, Ganama M, Varga S, Tilley S, Hua X*. Topical adenosine inhibits inflammatory response and mucus production in a mouse model of viral acute rhinosinusitis. Laryngoscope. 2022 Dec 28. doi: 10.1002/lary.30541. *Corresponding author.
  4. McMillan A, Chen S, Hua X*. Management of a piriform sinus fistula with chronic neck infection in an adult. Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology. First published online September 20, 2024. *Corresponding author.
  5. Waldstein K, Issimov A, Ganama M, Jinge V, Tilley S, Hua X*. Nasal virus infection induces asthma exacerbation through B-cell dependent recruitment of inflammatory monocytes. The International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology, 2024 Aug 7. doi: 10.1002/alr.23426. *Corresponding author.
  6. Nelson R, Ernst A, MBA, Hua X, Hansen M, MD. Initial Surgeon Experiences with a Robotic-Assisted Cochlear Implant Electrode Array Insertion System. Submitted to Otology and Neurotology