Title Associate Professor of Pediatrics Institution Boston Children's Hospital Address Children's Hospital
300 Longwood Ave
Boston MA 02115
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Biography
| Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX | Postdoc | 12/2013 | Bioinformatics |
| University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China | PhD | 09/2009 | Genomics |
| Nankai University, Tianjin, China | BS | 07/2004 | Biophysics |
2013
Basic Sciences Recognition Prize
Overview
We are a computational biology lab combining informatic and biological techniques to study cell identity regulation. Different cell types in a healthy body share the same genetic sequence. Difference in identity of these cell types is determined by epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Meanwhile, many genetic mutations in germ line or somatic cells were found to affect epigenetic factors, and can cause disease due to cell identity dysregulation. (1) To study cell identity regulation in development, we are focused on cardiovascular endothelial lineage specification, and further work with collaborators to apply our knowledge to other cell lineages such as embryonic stem cell, cardiomyocyte, smooth muscle cells, fibroblast, and neuron cells. (2) To study cell identity dysregulation in diseases, the lab is focused on prostate cancer and heart failure, and further works with collaborators to apply our knowledge to other diseases such as Rett Syndrome, and Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome.
Major research directions in the lab include:
> Develop new bioinformatics techniques to interpret high throughput genomic data.
> Single cell, spatial genomics, Hi-C, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, RNA-seq and other additional techniques to study epigenetic regulation of transcription by 3D chromatin conformation, chromatin modifications, and chromatin-binding proteins.
> High throughput profiling of RNA methylation, RNA binding proteins, and ribosomes to study post transcriptional regulation of gene expression.
> Molecular, cellular, animal, and clinical models to understand mechanisms in diseases with a focus on heart failure and prostate cancer.
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