Description of Research Expertise

In my independent research, I aim to combine my knowledge of enzymology, biochemistry, spectroscopy, structural biology, and RNA biology to address fundamental research questions about how the dysregulation of RNA-binding proteins and RNA-modifying enzymes contribute to childhood cancer. My laboratory is focused on (1) RNA-modifying and -processing enzymes in translation regulation in neurodegeneration and cancer and (2) the function of sex chromosome-encoded homologous proteins in sex bias of gene regulation.

As a PI at UPenn, I have trained 9 undergraduates, 8 Ph.D. students (3 recently graduated and 5 current), and 7 post-doctoral fellows (1 left to start his research laboratory and 6 current). My previous Ph.D. students have obtained authorship on multiple papers from their time in my lab and moved on successfully in their careers. Among my 8 Ph.D. students, 1 was awarded an NIH-F31, and 2 are currently awarded NSF-GRFP. My first postdoc left our lab and started his own lab as a Professor at China Pharmaceutical University. One of my current postdocs has won an Early Postdoc. Mobility fellowship by Heinrich Kronstein Foundation.

I have been appointed to the leadership team in the newly launched RNA Innovation Center at Penn and the Core Leadership Council at Penn Center for Genome Integrity. I have contributed extensively to the local and broader community, including serving as editor of several journals, member of the NSF panel, external grant reviewer of the French National Research Agency and European Research Council, and mentoring committees for postdoc and graduate students.