Translational Pharmacogenomics and Cancer Biology

Novel drug sensitivity model development

We are currently working on developing drug sensitivity prediction models for various types of cancers and medications. We seek to identify genetic variants (in the form of SNPs or CNVs), microRNA and/or gene expression that are associated with drug sensitivity both in vitro and in vivo. We are also exploring the opportunity in using blood samples derived from patients as a drug sensitivity screening model.

Mechanistic investigations in Cancer genomics

We employ multiple bioinformatic tools to identify potential pharmacogenomic biomarkers in publicly existing high-throughput datasets. These novel biomarkers were then experimentally evaluated in various cancer and normal cell lines as well as in clinical samples.

Integrative Research

Through ongoing clinical trials, our lab collects patient samples over time to generate longitudinal "omics" data after drug treatment. We integrate multiple levels of "omics" data (including but not limited to DNA/mRNA/non-coding RNA/protein) along with clinical treatment information over time to develop better omic prediction model for drug response.

Drug Repurposing

Our lab has developed a genome-wide gene expression based drug sensitivity prediction method, which utilizes the expression of every gene in the genome to determine drug sensitivity. We are currently applying this novel method in repurposing drugs in various cancer types.