Research

The main research focus of our lab is on understanding the roles of different small RNA-mediated gene regulation mechanisms in the development and progression of cancer especially prostate cancer. Ongoing research projects include the following:

  1. Study the molecular mechanisms of RNAa.

    2. We recently identified a small RNA-mediated gene activation mechanism termed RNAa. This project is aimed at understanding the molecular mechanism of RNAa and defining rules for selecting functional dsRNA targets on gene promoters.
  2. Study in vivo anti-tumor effects of RNAa via targeted activation of tumor suppressor genes in animal models.

    3. We are interested in applying RNAa to cancer treatment and are currently testing such application with several cancer models including prostate cancer.
  3. Identify endogenous RNAa.

    4. Efforts are currently been made to identify endogenous RNAa mediated by naturally occurring small RNAs including microRNA.
  4. Study stem cell reprogramming.

    5. This project is designed to apply RNAa technique to the reprogramming of stem cells without using virus.