1. Member of the Senior Leadership Team in the Research Department, steering departmental goal setting, resource allocation, and planning/implementation for all biological projects.2. Built a research platform for drug discovery in neurodegenerative diseases. Conducted MOA/pharmacological studies of NRF2 small molecule activators to evaluate their uses for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases3. Led exploratory drug discovery projects targeting autoimmune/inflammation, including target identification/validation, assay development, hit discovery, CRO management etc.

1. Established an extramural funded laboratory and a research platform employing biochemical, cell biological, biophysical, genetic, proteomic, and drug discovery approaches to address our hypotheses2. Secured ~$7 million research funding from the NIH, American Cancer Society (ACS), etc.3. Investigated biological functions of deubiquitinating enzymes, proteasome biochemistry, and Parkinson's disease pathogenesis.4. Corresponding author of 13 peer-reviewed publications. An author of 30+ scientific publications5. Mentored 15 lab members including postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and PRAs 6. Instructed both graduate and medical student courses, and served as the Graduate Course Director7. Invited reviewer on multiple NIH study sections and international funding agencies; Reviewer for 10+ scientific journals, and editorial board member of J. Biol. Chem.

Investigated the biochemistry of the 26S proteasome, resulting in four first author publications. 1) Discovered the distinct role of ATP binding and hydrolysis in controlling assembly, stability, and substrate degradation of the 26S proteasome (Molecular Cell). 2) Discovered that the 26S proteasome-mediated degradation can initiate from an internal unstructured region of a protein by insertion of a loop into the barrel-shaped proteolytic chamber (Science).3) Discovered that 20S proteasome-mediated partial degradation of alpha-synuclein can product aggregation-prone fragments, similar to those deposited in the brain of PD patients (JBC).

1) Characterized horseradish peroxidase denaturation and catalytic intermediates using various spectroscopic methods. 2) Established a laser-based device monitoring ion gradient adjacent to an electrode in response to applied electrical field. The method is useful for evaluating battery materials. 3) Published five first author peer-reviewed publications.