MRC Center, University Medical School, England
Appointed in 1972
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MRC Center, University Medical School, England
Appointed in 1972
Sequence analysis of high molecular weight RNA from oncongenic viruses
University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 1996
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University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 1996
Poly(A)-dependent control of translation initiation
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Appointed in 1990
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University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Appointed in 1990
Sterol repressor: genetic and biochemical analysis
University of California, San Francisco
Appointed in 1999
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University of California, San Francisco
Appointed in 1999
Specificity in G protein signal transduction
University of Medicine and Dentristry New Jersey
Appointed in 1992
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University of Medicine and Dentristry New Jersey
Appointed in 1992
Activation of a bacterial signal transduction protein
Harvard University Medical School /
Colorado State University
Appointed in 1976
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Harvard University Medical School / Colorado State University
Appointed in 1976
DNA transmethylation
University of Michigan
Appointed in 1964
Transport systems and amiono acid transport
Yale University
Appointed in 1972
Embryonic determination and differentiation in Drosophila
Stanford University
Appointed in 1973
DNA structure of Drosophila
Princeton University
Appointed in 1990
Role of NSF attachment protein in Golgi transport
Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 2017
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Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 2017
Identifying novel nucleotide second messengers from mammals using bacteria
Nucleotide second messengers are crucial for development and signaling in both humans and bacteria. Nucleotide-centric pathways in human cells are targets of therapeutic interventions for cancer and diabetes, but signal regulation is complex and remains poorly understood. My work reconstructs mammalian nucleotide signaling in bacterial systems, creating the transformative opportunity to leverage bacterial genetics to uncover how these pathways are mechanistically regulated. Future findings from this work will enhance our understanding of known and previously uncharacterized cell signals in eukaryotes and prokaryotes._x000D_
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Prior to my postdoctoral work, I earned my Ph.D. in Daniel A. Portnoy’s Lab, at the University of California, Berkeley. There, I worked on essential genes and virulence regulation in the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.
Harvard University
Appointed in 1987
Signal transduiction mechanisms during neural induction
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Appointed in 1965
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University of Wisconsin, Madison
Appointed in 1965
Nucleic acid metabolism
Wesleyan University
Appointed in 1982
Transposable elements in integrated mammalian systems
University of Chicago
Appointed in 1965
Cellular protein synthesis
MRC Center, University Medical School, England
Appointed in 1983
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MRC Center, University Medical School, England
Appointed in 1983
Higher order folding in chromatin
California Institute of Technology
Appointed in 1993
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California Institute of Technology
Appointed in 1993
snRNP interactions of the yeast splicing protein, PRP4
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Appointed in 1987
Post-transcriptional control of gene expression
Johns Hopkins University
Appointed in 1966
Structure and composition of core portion of the cell wall lipopolysaccharide of E. coli
University of Colorado, Boulder
Appointed in 1988
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University of Colorado, Boulder
Appointed in 1988
Preparing active subsystems of Tetrahymena ribozyme
Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 1991
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Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 1991
Stanford University
Appointed in 1997
Identification of picornavirus-susceptibility genes
Johns Hopkins University
Appointed in 1965
Protein chemistry
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Appointed in 1974
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Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Appointed in 1974
Mechanism of tumor metastasis
University of Hawaii /
University of California, Davis
Appointed in 1979
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University of Hawaii / University of California, Davis
Appointed in 1979
Translational regulation of protein synthesis
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Appointed in 1986
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Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Appointed in 1986
Immunoglobulin DNA rearrangement enzyme(s)
Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 1972
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Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 1972
Chain termination in eukaryotes
Johns Hopkins University
Appointed in 1964
Properties of mitochondrial membranes
Harvard University
Appointed in 1996
Combinatorial design of a PH-domain binder
University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 1998
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University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 1998
The generation of new tRNAs to expand the genetic code
Yale University
Appointed in 1997
Role of the chaperone component of ClpAP protease
Universite de Bruxelles, Belgium
Appointed in 1960
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Universite de Bruxelles, Belgium
Appointed in 1960
Physiology and histochemistry of developing amphibian eggs and embryos
Massachusetts Institute of Technology /
Columbia University
Appointed in 1984
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Columbia University
Appointed in 1984
Egg-laying constitutive mutants of the nematode C elegans
University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 2013
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University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 2013
Development of an isotopic labeling approach for rapid profiling of the O-glycoproteome
My research involves using isotopic labeling strategies and computational methods to enable a novel chemical glycoproteomics platform termed Isotope Targeted Glycoproteomics (IsoTaG).  Given the strong correlation of altered glycosylation patterns with malignancy, glycosylated proteins may be an information-rich subset of the proteome from which cancer biomarkers can be discovered. We employ metabolic labeling as a means to tag specific classes of glycoproteins for enrichment from human tissue samples and subsequent identification by mass spectrometry. A challenge in this endeavor is defining sites of glycosylation on peptide digests derived from such complex samples. To facilitate this effort, we invented a targeted strategy to enable the detection and identification of glycosylated peptides independent of the mass of the pendant glycan. Collectively, these tools allow us to quantitatively profile changes in protein glycosylation associated with human cancer progression and embryonic stem cell differentiation.
Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 1984
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Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 1984
An inherited limb deformity created by insertional mutagenesis in tg mouse
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Appointed in 1971
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Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Appointed in 1971
DNA recombination and replication
Carlsberg Laboratorium
Appointed in 1951
Effects of glyceris acid and related metabolites on two mutants requiring serine or glycine
Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 2015
Probing the molecular mechanism of ERAD-L
My research investigates the molecular mechanism of ER-associated degradation (ERAD). Using biochemical and structural tools, my study aims to understand how misfolded proteins in the ER are recognized, retro-translocated out of the ER into the cytosol, and subsequently degraded by proteasome._x000D_
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I was born and grew up in one of the big city in China, Shanghai. After receiving BS in Biology from Fudan University, my strong interest in protein biochemistry brought me overseas to pursue my PhD in molecular biochemistry and biophysics from Yale University. Working in the lab of Karin M. Reinisch, my thesis work focused on solving structures of key regulators of membrane trafficking. Currently, I am doing postdoctoral work supervised by Tom Rapoport, in whose lab I learn new skills in the exciting field of membrane biology. Outside of the lab, I like painting, and enjoy life in Boston with my family and friends.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Appointed in 1966
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Appointed in 1966
Lipopolysaccharides in Salmonella
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Appointed in 1968
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University of Wisconsin, Madison
Appointed in 1968
Regulation of repression of DNA transcription of early genes
Columbia University
Appointed in 2007
The contribution of neuroligin and neurixin diversity to synaptic specificity
Rockefeller University
Appointed in 2007
Coordinated cytoskeletal dynamics and epidermal polarity: implications in skin cancer
Boston Children's Hospital
Appointed in 2011
Dissecting functions of long noncoding RNAs in cardiac progenitors and heart development
Carnegie Institute for Science
Appointed in 1993
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Carnegie Institute for Science
Appointed in 1993
Intranuclear organelles that contain snRNPs
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Appointed in 1996
Cloning and characterizing the EIA-binding protein p400
Yale University
Appointed in 1981
Regulatory roles of synaptic phosphoproteins
University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 2023
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University of California, Berkeley
Appointed in 2023
Structural basis of Doa10-mediated protein quality control at the ER
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a critical organelle for maintaining protein quality control in cells; misfolded proteins are targeted for degradation through the ER-associate degradation (ERAD) pathway. Dr. Kevin Wu will study the ER-membrane bound E3 ubiquitin ligase Doa10 in Dr. Eunyong Park’s lab at the University of California, Berkeley. Doa10 is conserved from yeast to humans and identifies and targets many misfolded proteins for degradation. However, it is unclear how Doa10 recognizes a wide range of client proteins. Dr. Wu will use biochemical and structural approaches to reveal how Doa10 recognizes and processes a range of substrates, and how Doa10 cooperates with other quality control factors to maintain protein homeostasis. Protein misfolding and aggregation are associated with aging and diseases such as neurodegeneration. Thus, Wu’s studies may have implications for developing future therapies to improve protein homeostasis in human disease.
As a graduate student in Dr. James Bardwell’s lab at the University of Michigan, Wu investigated chaperone-mediated protein folding. There, he discovered that weak binding between ATP-independent chaperones enable the refolding of client proteins, whereas stronger binding hinders refolding. Dr. Wu’s background in protein refolding set him up for exploring how Doa10 E3 ubiquitin ligase recognizes unfolded protein targets.
Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 2009
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Harvard University Medical School
Appointed in 2009
Connecting sequence divergence to quantitative phenotype differences in drosophila
I am currently working on the connection between regulatory region sequence and function by measuring quantitative expression patterns of developmental genes in multiple Drosophila species and creating a biophysical model to interpret these data.
I have always been interested in applying methods from statistics and physics to biological problems. ¬†As an undergraduate at Rutgers University, I majored in molecular biology and statistics and did computational work in a protein NMR lab. ¬†I continued my education in Harvard University’s biophysics program, where I developed mathematical models of a wide variety of biological phenomena, including metabolic networks and protein-DNA interactions. ¬†Following an inspirational summer at the Marine Biological Laboratory¬ís physiology course, I decided to focus my postdoctoral studies on transcriptional regulation, this time combining my computational work with experiments. Outside of my research, I enjoy spending time outside — rowing, running and cross-country skiing.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Appointed in 2019
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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Appointed in 2019
Unbiased analysis of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore
Heart failure is a common and lethal condition, yet the mechanisms by which the heart fails remains a mystery. Over the past decade, heart failure etiology has shifted from valvular heart disease and hypertension to coronary artery disease. As a result, ischemic cardiomyopathy-symptomatic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in the setting of coronary artery disease- now accounts for nearly 70% of all heart failure causes in the United States. The exact basis of ischemic cardiomyopathy is unknown; however, identifying molecular changes in the ischemic myocardium and the generation of animal models by which these processes can be studied are an absolute necessity.
Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), which consists of a labile  subunit and stable  subunit, is master transcription factor that accumulates during hypoxia and activates genes whose products promote cellular survival under ischemic conditions. The HIFsubunit is regulated through prolyl hydroxylation by -ketoglutarate (KG) dependent dioxygenases known as EGLNs (also called PHDs). Acute PHD inactivation in the heart has been shown to be protective during acute cardiac ischemia in rodents, and several PHD inhibitory drugs are now in development as tissue protectant molecules. Conversely, chronic PHD inactivation or HIF stabilization itself, both predictable consequences of chronic ischemia, is sufficient to induce the hallmarks of ischemic cardiomyopathy. My work in William Kaelin’s lab has identified a new mechanism contributing to the pathogenesis of HIF-driven ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Yale University
Appointed in 1990
snRNA catlyzed splicing in the absence of proteins
University of California, Berkeley /
University of California, San Diego
Appointed in 1971
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University of California, Berkeley / University of California, San Diego
Appointed in 1971
Regulation of repression in histidine operon of S. typhimurium