Jun Lu, PhD
Cards
Contact Info
Featured Publication
Additional Titles
Vice Chair Diversity, Genetics
Contact Info
Featured Publication
Additional Titles
Vice Chair Diversity, Genetics
Contact Info
Featured Publication
About
Titles
Associate Professor of Genetics
Vice Chair Diversity, Genetics
Appointments
Genetics
Associate Professor TenurePrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Center for Biomedical Data Science
- Center for RNA Science and Medicine
- Computational Biology and Biomedical Informatics
- Diabetes Research Center
- Genetics
- Genomics, Genetics, and Epigenetics
- Lu Lab
- Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics and Development
- Yale Cancer Center
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Stem Cell Center
- Yale Ventures
- YCCEH
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 Research Interests
- View Lab Website
Lu Lab @ Yale
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Shangqin Guo, PhD
Sajid A Khan, MD, FACS, FSSO
Diane Krause, MD, PhD
Mei Zhong, PhD
Dianqing (Dan) Wu, PhD
Hongyue Zhou
Cell Differentiation
Cell Lineage
Hematopoiesis
Neoplasms
Publications
Featured Publications
Cell surface RNAs control neutrophil recruitment
Zhang N, Tang W, Torres L, Wang X, Ajaj Y, Zhu L, Luan Y, Zhou H, Wang Y, Zhang D, Kurbatov V, Khan S, Kumar P, Hidalgo A, Wu D, Lu J. Cell surface RNAs control neutrophil recruitment. Cell 2024, 187: 846-860.e17. PMID: 38262409, PMCID: PMC10922858, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.033.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCell surfaceMammalian homologOuter cell surfaceRNA transportGlycan modificationsMammalian cellsSID-1Cellular functionsRecruitment to inflammatory sitesGlycoRNARNAMurine neutrophilsFunctional significanceNeutrophil recruitmentNeutrophil recruitment to inflammatory sitesBiological importanceCellsNeutrophil adhesionReduced neutrophil adhesionHomologyGlycansGenesInflammatory sitesRecruitmentEndothelial cellsSpatially exploring RNA biology in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues
Bai Z, Zhang D, Gao Y, Tao B, Zhang D, Bao S, Enninful A, Wang Y, Li H, Su G, Tian X, Zhang N, Xiao Y, Liu Y, Gerstein M, Li M, Xing Y, Lu J, Xu M, Fan R. Spatially exploring RNA biology in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. Cell 2024, 187: 6760-6779.e24. PMID: 39353436, PMCID: PMC11568911, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.09.001.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsRNA biologyWhole-transcriptome sequencingMicroRNA regulatory networkSplicing dynamicsDeterministic barcodingRNA speciesRNA processingRNA variantsFFPE tissuesRegulatory networksTranscriptome sequencingSpliced isoformsNon-malignant cellsTumor clonal architecturesClonal architectureGene expressionCellular dynamicsRNAArchival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissueMalignant subclonesFormalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPEFFPE samplesParaffin-embedded (FFPEBiologyHuman lymphomas5‐Fluorouracil efficacy requires anti‐tumor immunity triggered by cancer‐cell‐intrinsic STING
Tian J, Zhang D, Kurbatov V, Wang Q, Wang Y, Fang D, Wu L, Bosenberg M, Muzumdar MD, Khan S, Lu Q, Yan Q, Lu J. 5‐Fluorouracil efficacy requires anti‐tumor immunity triggered by cancer‐cell‐intrinsic STING. The EMBO Journal 2021, 40: embj2020106065. PMID: 33615517, PMCID: PMC8013832, DOI: 10.15252/embj.2020106065.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAnti-tumor immunityTumor burdenSubsequent type I interferon productionHigh STING expressionIntratumoral T cellsT-cell depletionType I interferon productionI interferon productionLoss of STINGImmunocompetent hostsColorectal specimensT cellsSTING expressionBetter survivalHigh doseTherapeutic effectivenessHuman colorectal specimensMelanoma tumorsInterferon productionChemotherapeutic drugsMurine colonImmunityEfficacyStingsColonEvitar: designing anti-viral RNA therapies against future RNA viruses
Zhang D, Tian J, Wang Y, Lu J. Evitar: designing anti-viral RNA therapies against future RNA viruses. Bioinformatics 2022, 38: 2437-2443. PMID: 35294970, PMCID: PMC9048652, DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btac144.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemicSwine flu virusRNA virusesDisease 2019 pandemicRNA virus outbreaksMERS-CoV virusesPre-designed siRNAsShelf therapeuticsRespiratory virusesFlu virusVirusVirus outbreakNew RNA virusRNA therapyLack of availabilityTherapeuticsViral sequencesRNA therapeuticsSiRNAsSingle-cell microRNA-mRNA co-sequencing reveals non-genetic heterogeneity and mechanisms of microRNA regulation
Wang N, Zheng J, Chen Z, Liu Y, Dura B, Kwak M, Xavier-Ferrucio J, Lu YC, Zhang M, Roden C, Cheng J, Krause DS, Ding Y, Fan R, Lu J. Single-cell microRNA-mRNA co-sequencing reveals non-genetic heterogeneity and mechanisms of microRNA regulation. Nature Communications 2019, 10: 95. PMID: 30626865, PMCID: PMC6327095, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07981-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSame single cellMicroRNA-mRNASingle cellsGenome-scale analysisNon-genetic cellNon-genetic heterogeneityMultiple omic profilesGenomic approachesMicroRNA regulationMolecular regulationTarget mRNAsExpression variabilityCellular pathwaysRegulatory relationshipsLevels of microRNAsIntercellular heterogeneityOmics profilesIntercellular variabilityCell heterogeneityMRNA profilesMicroRNAsMRNACellsRegulationExpressionThe DNA Methylcytosine Dioxygenase Tet2 Sustains Immunosuppressive Function of Tumor-Infiltrating Myeloid Cells to Promote Melanoma Progression
Pan W, Zhu S, Qu K, Meeth K, Cheng J, He K, Ma H, Liao Y, Wen X, Roden C, Tobiasova Z, Wei Z, Zhao J, Liu J, Zheng J, Guo B, Khan SA, Bosenberg M, Flavell RA, Lu J. The DNA Methylcytosine Dioxygenase Tet2 Sustains Immunosuppressive Function of Tumor-Infiltrating Myeloid Cells to Promote Melanoma Progression. Immunity 2017, 47: 284-297.e5. PMID: 28813659, PMCID: PMC5710009, DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2017.07.020.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsImmunosuppressive functionMyeloid cellsIntratumoral myeloid cellsNon-hematologic malignanciesMyeloid-specific deletionTumor-associated macrophagesReduced tumor growthTumor-promoting functionsProinflammatory onesMyD88 pathwayMelanoma patientsCell depletionEffector TRole of TET2Methylcytosine dioxygenase TET2Mouse modelIL-1RMelanoma growthTherapeutic targetTumor growthTET2 expressionMelanoma progressionHematopoietic malignanciesMalignancyTET2Novel determinants of mammalian primary microRNA processing revealed by systematic evaluation of hairpin-containing transcripts and human genetic variation
Roden C, Gaillard J, Kanoria S, Rennie W, Barish S, Cheng J, Pan W, Liu J, Cotsapas C, Ding Y, Lu J. Novel determinants of mammalian primary microRNA processing revealed by systematic evaluation of hairpin-containing transcripts and human genetic variation. Genome Research 2017, 27: 374-384. PMID: 28087842, PMCID: PMC5340965, DOI: 10.1101/gr.208900.116.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPri-miRNA processingHuman genetic variationGenetic variationPrimary sequence motifsPrimary microRNA processingMiRNA biogenesisDisease-causing mutationsPrimary miRNAsPri-miRNAsSequence motifsMiRNA hairpinsMicroRNA processingMature microRNAsSequence featuresRNA hairpinsComputational pipelineNovel determinantStem lengthUnpaired basesHairpinTranscriptsStemBiogenesisGenomeMiRNAsA Molecular Chipper technology for CRISPR sgRNA library generation and functional mapping of noncoding regions
Cheng J, Roden CA, Pan W, Zhu S, Baccei A, Pan X, Jiang T, Kluger Y, Weissman SM, Guo S, Flavell RA, Ding Y, Lu J. A Molecular Chipper technology for CRISPR sgRNA library generation and functional mapping of noncoding regions. Nature Communications 2016, 7: 11178. PMID: 27025950, PMCID: PMC4820989, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11178.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH KeywordsAnimalsBacterial ProteinsCell LineChromosome MappingCloning, MolecularClustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic RepeatsCRISPR-Associated Protein 9DNADNA Restriction EnzymesEndonucleasesGene LibraryGenomeHumansMiceMicroRNAsOligonucleotide Array Sequence AnalysisRNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas SystemsUntranslated RegionsmiR-125b promotes MLL-AF9–driven murine acute myeloid leukemia involving a VEGFA-mediated non–cell-intrinsic mechanism
Liu J, Guo B, Chen Z, Wang N, Iacovino M, Cheng J, Roden C, Pan W, Khan S, Chen S, Kyba M, Fan R, Guo S, Lu J. miR-125b promotes MLL-AF9–driven murine acute myeloid leukemia involving a VEGFA-mediated non–cell-intrinsic mechanism. Blood 2017, 129: 1491-1502. PMID: 28053194, PMCID: PMC5356452, DOI: 10.1182/blood-2016-06-721027.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2024
Dysregulation in keratinocytes drives systemic lupus erythematosus onset
Tian J, Shi L, Zhang D, Yao X, Zhao M, Kumari S, Lu J, Yu D, Lu Q. Dysregulation in keratinocytes drives systemic lupus erythematosus onset. Cellular & Molecular Immunology 2024, 1-14. PMID: 39627610, DOI: 10.1038/s41423-024-01240-z.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSystemic lupus erythematosusDendritic cellsT cellsActivated CD4+ T cellsDisease onsetSystemic lupus erythematosus onsetCD4+ T cellsHallmarks of systemic lupus erythematosusHuman systemic lupus erythematosusSkin lesions of patientsEtiology of systemic lupus erythematosusEffector T cellsLocal draining lymph nodesActivated dendritic cellsDraining lymph nodesMultiorgan autoimmune disorderSystemic autoimmune diseaseLesions of patientsPeroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gammaImmune cell dysregulationProliferator-activated receptor gammaInterferon regulatory factor 3Type I interferonII-dependent mannerRegulatory factor 3
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
honor Stewart Trust Fellow
National AwardThe Alexander & Margaret Stewart TrustDetails07/01/2012United Stateshonor Forbeck Scholar
National AwardWilliam Guy Forbeck FoundationDetails01/01/2007United States
News
News
- September 30, 2024
New Barcode Technology Could Help Diagnose Cancer More Precisely
- February 28, 2024
YCC Research Publications
- January 22, 2024Source: YaleNews
RNAs Do Work Outside of Cells, Too
- October 06, 2023Source: Yale Daily News
Local high school’s BioScience Club introduces students to careers in science
Get In Touch
Contacts
Events
- Yale Only