Jianlong Sun, PhDAssistant Professor

Our group is interested in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control self-renewal and differentiation of tissue resident stem cells. We aim to determine how these mechanisms are bypassed or hijacked in the process of neoplastic transformation, and how these mechanisms can be harnessed to improve stem cell regeneration for clinical implications. Using the hematopoietic system as a model, we track the clonal dynamics and differentiation of stem and progenitor cells in situ under a variety of physiological conditions. We also use cutting-edge technologies, including insertional mutagenesis and genome editing, to uncover the molecular networks that dictate the clonal behaviors of the individual stem and progenitor cells. Last but not least, we explore how disease-associated genetic and cellular alterations affect the normal clonal behaviors, thereby providing new insights into the etiology of hematopoietic diseases.