My research is centered on the mechanisms of metabolic regulation and clock control in metabolic physiology, and their dysregulation in metabolic diseases and cancer metabolism. A significant aspect of my research involves studying a newly discovered 12-hour circatidal clock and its contributions to the development and progression of liver metabolic diseases, diabetes, obesity, and cancer metabolism. My recent findings have unveiled the existence of this clock, which operates independently of the 24-hour circadian clock. This 12-hour clock is cell-autonomous and regulated by molecular pacemakers distinct from those controlling the 24-hour clock. Notably, I have identified a novel role of the 12-hour clock in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and prediabetic syndromes. 

In addition, I have made significant advancements in understanding the spatial-temporal distribution of metabolic pathway enzymes in the nucleus and their biological function. Using various advanced techniques such as single-cell multiomic RNA-Seq, ATAC-Seq, spatial transcriptomics, metabolomics, and epigenomic analyses, I investigate the reprogramming mechanisms of signaling and nuclear factors on chromatin. By deciphering their role in reprogramming hepatic transcription and metabolic machinery, I aim to gain insights into the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). My research represents a novel perspective on the temporal and spatial regulation of metabolism and stress responses, aiming to target the crosstalk between metabolism, genome/epigenome, nutrition, and the environment, with the goal of developing innovative therapeutics for metabolic diseases and cancer.

Novel 12-hour Clock Regulation of Membrane Fluidity and Lipid Homeostasis in NONALCOHOLIC Fatty liver disease & Prediabetes

Targeting Proteostasis in Castration-Resistant Prostate cancer and KRAS Pancreatic Cancer

Novel bulk and single-cell bioinformatics methodology for temporal-spatial data integration

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress & unfolded protein response (UPR) in metabolic diseases and cancer

Developing innovative mathematics tools & probabilistic models for multi-omic data analysis