Chromosomes are the fundamental structural units of our genome. Understanding their basic biology and how their mismanagement leads to disease is the main focus of the our lab. The scientific questions we address cover three major areas of research, including telomere function, DNA damage repair, and mitochondrial DNA stability.
My laboratory investigates the mechanisms that shape the unique DNA methylation patterns found in different cell types. We discovered that the cancer-associated TET proteins convert 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in DNA to the novel base 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC). We now know that the TET enzymes can diversify the epigenetic content of DNA tremendously and can also trigger DNA … Continued
Research in my lab is at the interface of mucus, immunology, bioengineering, nanotechnology, biophysics and computational modeling. Current projects encompass several areas: (1) elucidating and harnessing antibody-mucin interactions for improved protection against pathogens at mucosal surfaces; (2) elucidating microbiome effects on mucosal barriers, and precise tuning of microbial communities; (3) charactering adaptive immune response against … Continued
My research investigates biological systems that function under physically extreme conditions like short timescales, confinement to nanoscale regions of space, and high pressures. A significant portion of my research group’s efforts goes into the development of new experimental methods that allow observation of biomolecules, cells, and small organisms under these extreme conditions. These experiments are … Continued
The human body is home to a vast consortium of commensal bacteria that are now appreciated to have important impacts on various aspects of our health. Research in our lab focuses on how these commensal organisms influence the developing immune system and how this interaction between host and microbe can be harnessed therapeutically to treat … Continued
My lab has focused on the genes that control flower and fruit development in the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana. These studies have led to new technologies that are being applied to increase the yield of crop plants. My lab has also studies the genes that control stem cell formation during embryogenesis.
Research in our lab focuses on the mechanisms by which specialized cells in animal bodies recognize invading organisms, alert other cells as to the threat, and bring about defenses that eliminate infection. Genetic, molecular and biochemical approaches are carried out in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which provides a tractable model for dissecting the pathways … Continued
My group uses a highly interdisciplinary approach (integrating field work in Africa, empirical and computational analyses) to study human population genetics, human evolution, the genetic basis of adaptation, and genetic and environmental factors influencing variable anthropometric, cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune-related traits. Our research focuses primarily on African population variation, a region that has been underrepresented … Continued
The overall goals of our research group are to better understand host/pathogen interactions in intestinal cells, to define the unique physiology of the epithelial cell response to infection, and to determine how this relates to the maintenance of proteostasis. In particular we study infection and response to microsporidia, which comprise a phylum of fungal-like obligate … Continued
My laboratory investigates questions related to organogenesis including cell differentiation, tissue morphogenesis, organ homeostasis and function, as well as organ regeneration. We study these questions in zebrafish as well as in mouse and are currently looking at several mesodermal (heart, vasculature) and endodermal (pancreas, lung) organs. We utilize both forward and reverse genetic approaches, and … Continued