Biosensor &
Molecular Diagnostics  LAB

Spatiotemporal organization and compartmentalization are essential to sophisticatedly control complex networks of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) signaling. My lab will aim to study how the spatial organization of GPCR is structured and what is the role of the spatially compartmentalized GPCR signaling in physiology by exploring GPCR family which includes over 800 different types using unique genetically encoded molecular tools. We plan to expand our knowledge about the spatial organization of GPCRs especially showing unique spatial expression patterns by investigating the signaling activity architecture and characterizing the distinct role of different local signaling in regulating different signaling outputs. We will expand the detection coverage of subcellular locations of biosensors, as well as selective signaling perturbation including the plasma membrane, cytosol, endosome, mitochondria, ER, SR, Golgi, and nucleus for the comprehensive investigation of the signaling events. Furthermore, we plan to study the detailed molecular mechanism of disease relevant location bias of GPCR signaling in relationship with the local environment of the signaling origin such as the distinct lipid composition between different subcellular locations. Moreover, in combination with genome-editing methods, We will investigate the role of this signaling compartment in disease, especially pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).