Medicinal Chemistry

Research Topics

• Development of gene-guided approaches for plant natural product drug discovery

• Elucidation of plant natural product biosynthesis

• Development of synthetic biology approaches for diversification and pharmaceutical evaluation of plant natural products

• Mass spectrometry-based identification of specialized metabolites

• Evolution of plant specialized metabolism

Research Topics

• Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) Biology
  A small fraction of the human genome actually encodes proteins (< 2%), yet the majority of it is transcribed into RNA. This landscape of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) can function as scaffolds, decoys, guides, and catalysts that can orchestrate cellular behavior. Our lab is fascinated by this frontier. Understanding ncRNA biology holds huge promise for unlocking the complexities of human biology while also inspiring us to engineer new RNA biomedicines.

• Proximity Labeling Platforms
  Understanding RNA function requires capturing its highly dynamic interactions within the native cellular environment. We develop and deploy advanced proximity labeling techniques to capture RNA-protein, RNA-DNA, and RNA-RNA interactions with high spatial and temporal resolution.

• Functional ncRNA Discovery
  In our lab, we want to understand which ncRNAs are important, and which parts of them are responsible for their activity. We develop and leverage CRISPR-based functional genomics platform to systematically decode these complex molecules. Using scalable perturbation strategies and advanced screening methodologies to disrupt specific genetic elements, we can map these cause-and-effect relationships across the transcriptome.

• RNA Bioengineering
  Inspired by the functional potential of non-coding RNAs, our lab is pioneering the design of synthetic RNA biomedicines. We are establishing new directed evolution and synthetic biology platforms to select transcripts with novel bioactivities as well as build generative AI models for designing synthetic RNA biologics from the ground up.