Archaea represent the third domain of life on Earth. Even though these enigmatic microorganisms are prevalent within and around us, they have been constantly overlooked and, thus, remain poorly characterized. The overarching goal of my research program is to build the infrastructure to study methanogens, a subset of Archaea that have a considerable impact on … Continued
Individuals exhibit extensive differences in response to infection. Understanding how and why immune responses vary would enable us to predict responses to infection and autoimmune diseases. My research investigates why innate immune responses vary across individuals, focusing on differences in gene expression. I previously showed that several immune genes are controlled by regulatory elements derived … Continued
I am a statistician by training, and the biological phenomena captured in high-throughput genomic data motivate me to develop new statistical methodologies. The central aim of my research program is to build machine learning algorithms and statistical tools that aid in the understanding of how nonlinear interactions between genetic features affect the architecture of complex … Continued
My work seeks a fundamental understanding of how stem cell regulatory networks process internal and external signals into cell-fate decisions. In the long term, I aim to construct synthetic human tissues directly from embryonic stem cells and to help build a new field focused on forward cell-fate engineering. I apply quantitative experimental approaches with mathematical … Continued
All cell-types in the human body originated from one embryonic cell. Despite efforts to map the diversity of adult human cells, a mystery in biology is how these varied cell-types initially emerged during human embryonic development. I propose a reductionist approach: can we build cell-types from scratch outside the embryo to learn how they develop? … Continued
In biology, function arises from structure. My research is focusing on understanding the principle and mechanism of biological macromolecules through detailed structural visualizations. Distinct from most of the other structural biologists working with purified macromolecules, I use electron cryotomography (ECT), the highest-resolution cellular imaging technique available, to resolve the native structures and assemblies of macromolecular … Continued
I am interested in monitoring, understanding, and preventing the processes that cause human cancer. Previously, I developed the concept of mutational signatures, which I used to reveal the mutational processes in human cancer. My research is based on developing novel mathematical models, implementing these models into computational tools, and applying these tools to already existing … Continued
My research group studies how cells surveil protein biosynthesis to regulate gene expression and maintain a high-quality proteome. We biochemically rebuild cellular quality control pathways to dissect the mechanisms that detect and respond to problems during protein synthesis by ribosomes. We combine these experimental systems with functional and structural approaches to accomplish two goals. First, … Continued
My laboratory investigates the role of RNA in cellular organization and in neurodegenerative disease. There are currently three active areas of research in my laboratory. One, we are studying how RNA can act as a scaffold for cellular compartmentalization by mediating the assembly of RNA-containing granules. Second, we examine how regulated RNA-DNA interactions contribute to … Continued
Cells are physical as well as biological machines. While synthetic biology has focused on the biological, my lab is working to exploit physical interactions to develop new cell-to-cell signaling mechanisms. Physical interactions have the potential to be more rapid, precise, and species-independent compared to biological mechanisms involving DNA and proteins. We focus on bacteria due … Continued