Skip to Main Content

Jun Lu, PhD

he/him/his
Associate Professor of Genetics
DownloadHi-Res Photo

Additional Titles

Vice Chair Diversity, Genetics

About

Titles

Associate Professor of Genetics

Vice Chair Diversity, Genetics

Appointments

Education & Training

Postdoc Associate
Broad Institute or MIT and Harvard (2008)
PhD
Boston University (2003)

Research

Overview

The completion of the human genome project leads to the realization that only a small percentage of our heritable DNA sequences encodes proteins. Instead of being “junk DNA”, a significant portion of the noncoding genome has functions, in the forms of non-coding RNAs, binding sites for protein factors or other functional sequences. These noncoding elements often cross-talk with epigenetic machinery to regulate cell fate and behavior.

In our laboratory, we use the amazing blood-forming system, or hematopoiesis, as a model to study the noncoding and epigenetic controls.

There are several areas that my lab is currently focusing on. First, we are excited about a new class of noncoding RNAs that are presented on the outer cell surface with glycosylation modifications. We recently revealed the first known function of these glycoRNAs in the setting of neutrophil biology. There are many questions that await answers, including glycoRNAs' functions in other cellular systems, their mechanisms of biogenesis and regulation, and their translational and therapeutic potentials. Second, we are interested in understanding why and how differentiated cell types adopt special morphologies. We are currently studying the morphology of the neutrophil nucleus, which becomes non-spherical during differentiation from stem and progenitor cells. Third, we investigate general principles of cancers and their cross talk with immune cells.


Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Allergy and Immunology; Cell Differentiation; Cell Lineage; Hematologic Diseases; Hematopoiesis; Neoplasms

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Jun Lu's published research.

Publications

Featured Publications

2024

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • honor

    Stewart Trust Fellow

  • honor

    Forbeck Scholar

Get In Touch

Contacts

Academic Office Number

Events

Dec 20244Wednesday
May 20257Wednesday