LncRNAs, once dismissed as transcriptional noise, have emerged as crucial regulators in various biological processes. Genome-wide transcriptome analyses have revealed a significant enrichment of lncRNA expression in reproductive tissues, particularly the testis. Given the established role of lncRNAs in spermatogenesis across multiple species, my research aims to investigate the phenotypic effects and functions of selected lncRNAs in Drosophila reproduction.
The main objective is to characterize the phenotypic effect of the selected evolutionary conserved lncRNAs in two drosophila species, D. melanogaster and D. pseudoobscura, to investigate whether it’s potential to be the new factor in regulating the reproductive process, especially the spermatogenesis. The research will be divided into three specific aims to achieve the main objective:
Aim1: Identify developmental/functional phenotypes of the selected conserved Drosophila lncRNA in Drosophila melanogaster.
Aim2: Investigate whether similar developmental/functional phenotypes could be identified in Drosophila pseudoobscura.
Aim3: Identify the expression pattern and genetic dynamic differentiation of candidate lncRNAs in drosophila reproductive tissue or process.
Before starting my graduate program, I gained valuable research experience in Dr. Angela Hirbe's laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis. The lab focuses on sarcomas, utilizing genomic studies to identify novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets. My primary focus was on malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs). I was working on two things in the lab. First thing, I contributed to the development of a diagnostic biomarker for MPNSTs. I helped validate a newly developed antibody for a protein highly expressed in MPNSTs but not other sarcomas, aiming to improve the differentiation of MPNSTs from benign precursors and other sarcomas. Second thing is for MPNST Drug Screening: I investigated the potential for synthetic lethality between PARP inhibitors and chemotherapy drugs in MPNSTs. I treated MPNST cell lines with these drugs and analyzed the results using IncuCyte and Compusyn software. Additionally, I explored in vivo efficacy in PDX mice.
During my master program I involved in two research projects:
My first project is analyzed anti-cancer drugs and drug combinations using a machine learning model to investigate which show the most promise as the future therapies tailored to the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). I utilized a machine learning model to analyze anticancer drugs and drug combinations for colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment. I trained and validated a neural network model to predict drug synergy scores and experimentally confirmed promising combinations.
Second project, I tested whether our lab previously developed a deep learning segmentation model for computed tomography images that has a good correlation and with manual segmentation. I evaluated a deep learning segmentation model for computed tomography images of lung cancer patients. I assessed the model's correlation with manual segmentation and investigated the relationship between muscle metrics, clinical features, and patient survival. I demonstrated the model's accuracy in predicting survival and its potential for clinical application.
For more research detail can be found in Research statement.
[3] Godec, A., Jayasinghe, R., Chrisinger, J., Prudner, B., Ball, T., Wang, Y., Srihari, D., Kaushal, M., Dietz, H., Zhang, X., Pekmezci, M., Dahiya, S., Tao, Y., Luo, J., Van Tine, B., Ding, L., Gutmann, H.D., Hirbe, C.A., 2019. Whole exome sequencing reveals the maintained polyclonal nature from primary to metastatic malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor in two patients with NF1. Neuro-Oncology Advances.
[2] Moon C, Tompkins W, Wang Y, Godec A, Zhang X, Pipkorn P, Miller CA, Dehner C, Dahiya S, Hirbe AC., 2020 Unmasking Intra-tumoral heterogeneity and clonal evolution in NF1-MPNST. Genes (Basel), 11(5).
[1] Dehner D, Moon C, Zhou Z, Zhang X, Miller C, Xu H, Wan X, Yang K, Mashl J, Goslinw SJ, Wang Y, Zhang X, Godec A, Jones P, Dahiya S, Bhatia H, Primeau T, Li S, Pollard K, Pratilas CA, Shern JF, Hirbe AC., 2020 Chromosome 8 gain is associated with high-grade transformation in MPNST. J Clin Invest.