Major Research Interests
(1) Epigenetic regulation of early animal development mediated by DNA methylation and chromatin modifications.
(2) Epigenetic regulation of pluripotency and stem cell differentiation.
(3) The role of cis-regulatory elements such as enhancers, promoters, insulators and 3D chromatin structure in development and cell fate determination.
(4) Molecular mechanisms underlying human diseases linked to aberrant epigenetic regulation.
Our lab is interested in understanding epigenetic regulation of transcription in the mammalian genome that governs development and related human diseases. For this purpose we use a variety of methods in molecular biology, developmental biology, genomics and bioinformatics. By combining “wet” lab and “dry” lab, we aim to decipher the mechanisms underlying a number of key biological processes including the following areas:
(1) Epigenetic regulation of early animal development mediated by DNA methylation and chromatin modifications.
(2) Epigenetic regulation of pluripotency and stem cell differentiation.
(3) The role of cis-regulatory elements such as enhancers, promoters, insulators and 3D chromatin structure in development and cell fate determination.
(4) Molecular mechanisms underlying human diseases linked to aberrant epigenetic regulation.