I am a deeply curious person who has been fortunate enough to turn that curiosity into a career in science. With interdisciplinary training spanning biochemistry, cell biology, quantitative imaging, computation, and mathematical modeling, I lead the Lab for Cell Dynamics, where we investigate how cells process information, coordinate their behaviors, and collectively generate complex biological patterns during development. By uncovering the fundamental principles that govern cell and developmental dynamics, we hope to inspire new therapeutic strategies for cancer and age-related diseases.

My goal is not only to advance our understanding of cell dynamics, but also to cultivate a rigorous, collaborative, and nurturing research environment in which young scientists can explore bold questions, develop strong experimental and quantitative skills, and grow into independent thinkers. Through our internship program, I hope to share the excitement of scientific discovery and help students learn how to transform curiosity into testable questions, carefully designed experiments, and meaningful research.

Biological rhythms orchestrate functions in space and time for organisms to develop, to adapt, and to survive. My lab is interested in revealing hidden biological rhythms and in deciphering their underlying regulatory principles for biological control. Rhythmic systems that we investigate include oscillators, toggle switches and trigger waves, especially those that govern cellular survival, death, and differentiation. We take a multifaced quantitative approach integrating concepts and methods in biology, mathematics, engineering and informatics. I have an interdisciplinary background in quantitative biology, with trainings and expertise in microscopy, biochemistry, and mathematical modeling. Inspired by the intricate crosstalk between signaling and metabolism, my research group laid the groundwork of redox bistable switches that govern metabolic homeostasis and large-scale cell death propagation as trigger waves. One central question that we are currently addressing is: how the robustness and vulnerability of cellular redox state are governed by the redox regulatory network during physiological adaptation, stress response, and embryonic development. Our ultimate goal is to reveal general principles in biology for its rational design and control. 

Philosophy: Our lab aims to provide a nurturing environment for junior scientists to thrive in a cross-disciplinary environment. We are generally attracted to fundamental, under-explored questions at the interfaces between disciplines, and prefer to do destructive science and sometimes night science.