Expertise
Our research interest is to study the mechanism underlying the role of circadian clock in physiology and disease therapy. Circadian clocks are cellular timing systems that generate 24-hour biological rhythms that are conserved in nearly all life from unicellular organisms to humans. The internal body clock integrates with diverse environmental and metabolic stimuli (e.g., light, foods) to organize daily rhythms of behavior (e.g. sleep/wake and feeding cycles), physiology (e.g. body temperature, hormonal and immune systems), and cellular processes (e.g. the metabolic and cell cycle pathways). In modern society, circadian rhythm misalignments such as sleep deprivation, jet lag and shift work are thought to increase susceptibility to metabolic (e.g. cancer, obesity, and type 2 diabetes) and neurodegenerative (e.g. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases) disorders. Conversely, such pathological disorders are increasingly known to disrupt the sleep-wake cycle and circadian physiology. Thus a detailed understanding of the regulatory pathways of the circadian clock and how these interplay with various disease processes is crucial for the prevention and treatment of clock-associated disorders.
In this regard, our current studies include: (1) Understanding the biological mechanisms of circadian physiology and behaviors; (2) Investigating the molecular and cellular impact of circadian disruptions on tumor heterogeneity, tumor microenvironment, and metastatic progression in human bone and brain cancers, including osteosarcoma (OS) and glioblastoma (GBM). (3) Translational applications of circadian physiology for the treatment of cancer and aging-related pathologies using nutritional, metabolic, and pharmacological interventions.