Research Summary
I am a biomedical scientist with special expertise in the development of mouse models, biochemistry and cell biology, and signal transduction of cancer-relevant signaling pathways. My research interest has been on understanding the mechanisms of tumor initiation and progression by oncogenes, with the goal to identify therapeutic targets for patients with cancer. My current research interests lie in the following fields: (1) To dissect the downstream signaling pathways of oncogenic GNAQ and GNA11 to identify therapeutic targets for human uveal melanoma; (2) To develop uveal melanoma mouse models to validate the role of candidate melanoma genes in tumor formation and progression and to evaluate potential therapies in a preclinical setting; (3) To investigate the underlying mechainsm of uveal melanoma liver metastasis.
Education
Tsinghua University, Beijing, P.R.China B.S. 06/1992 Biology
Tsinghua University, Beijing, P.R.China M.S. 06/1995 Biochemistry
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Ph.D. 01/2003, Biochemistry
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Postdoc, 06/2006, Neuroscience
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer center, Postdoc, 12/2010, Cancer Translational Research