CTC RNA analysisDesign, execution, and management of breast cancer trial

Lab General operation and administration.

Early cancer detection and diagnostics

• Rare Cell Isolation, Purification and Maintenance by Smart Surfaces and Microfluidics

• Generated SENP5 cardiomyocyte-deletion mice to study the role of SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier)-specific protease SENP5 in heart.• Examined how deSUMOylase SENP1 regulates the acetylation and SUMOylation of STAT5 during early lymphoid development.• Defined the importance of ncRNA for the recruitment of SUMOylated HP1a to specific E2F-responsive promoter. Investigated how SUMOylation of HP1a regulates association with other chromatin remodelers.

• Determined the functional relationship between Red1-SUMO chain interaction and Red1-Ddc1-Rad17-Mec3 (9-1-1) interaction and their roles in activating Mec1 and Tel1 for phosphorylation of Hop1 in budding yeast meiosis.

• Identified the SUMO chains binding function of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae meiosis-specific chromosomal protein Red1 by using several approaches including biochemical protein purification and binding assay, yeast two-hybrid assay, chromosome spreading skill, and immunofluorescence technique.• Demonstrated the SUMO chains binding ability of Red1 is essential for the assembly of synaptonemal complex (SC). SC is a proteinaceous structure to mediate chromosome synapsis during budding yeast meiosis.• Discovered the SUMO chains binding ability of Red1 plays a significant role in promoting Mec1- and Tel1- dependent Hop1 phosphorylation, and repressing intersister chromosomal recombination to ensure interhomologous chromosomal recombination during budding yeast meiosis.

• Assisted in identifying the novel SUMO E3 ligase Zip3 in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae meiosis.