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Biography
Education:
BS, Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China (2007)
PhD, Molecular Cell & Developmental Biology, University of Miami, Miami FL (2012)
Postdoctoral Associate, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX (2017)
Research Interests:
The Tao lab is dedicated to unveiling the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying myocardial homeostasis, injury, and repair. We are interested in understanding how developmental pathways are connected to adult heart regeneration, and providing novel strategies for treating heart failure caused by numerous heart diseases. The hallmark of a failing heart is degenerative muscle that gradually loses healthy cardiomyocytes and contractility. Currently, there is no cure to reverse the pathological process. The goal of Tao lab is to identify the healing factors which are capable of promoting heart regeneration and therefore reversing heart failure. The technical strategies in our lab typically start with unbiased screening based on CRISPR technology and Next Generation Sequencing, which includes ChIP-Seq, RNA-Seq, ATAC-Seq and Drop-Seq (single cell transcriptome analysis). Once a target pathway has been identified, it will be validated in cell lines and tissue samples with molecular biology and biochemical experiments. Eventually, each hypothesis will be examined using an adult murine cardiac survival surgery model, where artificial myocardial infarction is induced by occluding the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD-O). The effect of gene manipulation on the scarring and recovering of the myocardium will be assessed by non-invasive echocardiography, histology, immunofluorescence, and biochemistry. Trainees in our lab will have the opportunities to learn the key technologies and skills in each step mentioned above. We welcome enthusiastic students and postdocs to join our lab.