Professional Overview
Honors and Awards
- Brain Disorders Award, The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neurosciences (2008)
- McKnight Scholar Award, The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neurosciences (2002)
- Career Scientist Award, Monique Weill-Caulier Trust (2002)
- Speaker's Fund for Biomedical Research Award, New York Academy of Sciences (2002)
- Young Investigator Award, The Arnold and mabel Beckman Foundation (2002)
- Research Fellow, The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (2002)
Professional Education
| Ph.D.: | Cornell University, Genetics and Development (1995) |
| B.S.: | Fudan University, Genetics (1987) |
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
Our laboratory is interested in understanding how the diverse neuronal cell types are generated and maintained in the nervous system. We are taking a combined molecular, cellular, genetic, and genomic approach in the model organisms Drosophila and mouse. To study how neuronal diversity is generated, we focus on investigating the mechanisms of asymmetric division of neural stem cell that balances the self-renewal and differentiation potentials of neural stem cells. Of particular interest to us is the mechanism by which aberrant regulation of neural stem cell asymmetric division leads to brain tumor-like phenotypes. To study how neurons are properly maintained after they are integrated into neural networks, we are creating neurodegenerative phenotypes in Drosophila similar to that observed in Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseases in humans. We are employing the power of fly genetics to identify genetic modifiers that can suppress or enhance these disease phenotypes. Given the unanticipated high level conservation of signaling pathways, regulatory mechanisms, and physiological processes between flies and mammals, our research promises to provide insights into fundamental mechanisms that control the generation and maintenance of neuronal diversity in humans.
Publications
- Tricornered/NDR kinase signaling mediates PINK1-directed mitochondrial quality control and tissue maintenance. Genes Dev. 2013; (2): 157-62
- A critical role for the PAR-1/MARK-tau axis in mediating the toxic effects of Aβ on synapses and dendritic spines. Hum Mol Genet. 2012; (6): 1384-90
- Parkinson's disease-associated kinase PINK1 regulates Miro protein level and axonal transport of mitochondria. PLoS Genet. 2012; (3): e1002537
- Regulation of cell growth by Notch signaling and its differential requirement in normal vs. tumor-forming stem cells in Drosophila. Genes Dev. 2011; (24): 2644-58
- Pathogenic LRRK2 negatively regulates microRNA-mediated translational repression. Nature. 2010; (7306): 637-41
- Pink1 regulates mitochondrial dynamics through interaction with the fission/fusion machinery. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008; (19): 7070-5
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