Education
Academy of Military Medical Sciences, PhD, 2000
Emory University & University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Postdoc, 2000-2007
Vanderbilt University, Research Fellow and Research Instructor, 2007-2011
The Ohio State University, Research Assistant Professor, 2011-2012
The University of California at Davis, Assistant Project Scientist, 2012-2016
The University of California at Davis, Associate Project Scientist, 2016-2019
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Assistant Professor, 2019-present
Research Summary
I am an Assistant Professor in UNC HIV Cure Center & Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, working in the HIV pathogenesis in models of SIV-infected rhesus macaque and HIV-infected patients. Several research programs are under development in my lab with a focus of epigenetics, including molecular mechanisms of HIV replication and latency establishment, host-virus interaction, innate immune response to viral infection, and gut health in the context of microbiome. Extensive in vitro tissue culture models, ex vivo patient samples, and in vivo rhesus macaque models of AIDS are carried out in my lab. Multiple tools are applied, such as RNA-seq, proteomics, metabolomics, highly sensitive digital droplet PCR and RNA/DNAscope, digital ELISA, and modern molecular biological and biochemical techniques. We are also very interested in how non-CD4 expression cells in the CNS get infected by HIV, how the latent reservoirs are established in the CNS, and whether we can target unique viral infection and latency signaling pathways to attack HIV reservoirs in CNS for a cure/remission. We are actively recruiting postdocs, visiting scholars, and technicians. Rotation graduate students and undergraduate students are welcome to join my lab located in the UNC HIV Cure Center for these exciting research projects.
