Chromatin Basis of Transcription
Cell-Cycle Dynamics of Transcription
Cell-type specificity of gene expression programs is central to cell-type specific functions of the cells, and therefore, the molecular basis of multicellularity. How cell-type specific transcriptional program is maintained during the cell cycle and inherited over cell generations remains an unsolved question. This project investigates the mechanisms regulating cell-cycle dynamics of gene transcription by defining the dynamics of the chromatin state during the cell cycle and cell division.
Chromatin Basis for Cell Fate Specification
Cell fate specification is the basis for the organogenesis in multicellular organisms. How the fundamentally stochastic behaviors of molecules inside and outside our cells can regulate cell fate specification in the right place at the right time? This project uses mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation to the hemato-endothelial progenitor as a model system to study how interactions between transcription factors and chromatin regulate cell fate specification process.
Chromatin Landscape of Cellular Quiescence
Cellular quiescence is a reversible cell-cycle arrest state during which cells exit the cell cycle and enter a non-dividing phase. Maintenance of cell quiescence is fundamental to functions of terminally differentiated cells and maintaining adult stem cell reservoirs. Furthermore, modulation of quiescence allows tissue regeneration, and dysregulation of quiescence could underlie tumorigenesis. This project investigates the chromatin basis of cellular quiescence.
