I am a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Guang Yao.
Summary of My Work:
I apply bioinformatics and statistical machine learning tools (in collaboration with Prof. Helen Zhang at UA Math/Stat), as well as molecular and cellular biology methods, to study the Rb-E2F gene network controlling the quiescent states of stem and progenitor cells. Many cellular factors and mechanisms affect quiescence depth by impinging on the Rb-E2F bistable switch and modulating its activation threshold. I am particularly interested in how circadian clock regulates cellular quiescence depth.
I am currently working on two projects.
(1) Using systems biology approaches to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which circadian clock modulates the cell cycle and related cellular processes.
(2) Identify microRNA biomarkers for the early detection of ovarian cancer. In this project, I perform next-gen microRNA-seq analysis of clinical samples (in collaboration with Prof. Setsuko Chambers in UA Cancer Center) to identify microRNA profiles (both tissue- and blood-based) suggestive of high-risk ovarian cancer patients based on machine learning and feature selection methods.