As a key member of the Columbia Center for Human Development (CCHD) and the Columbia Center for Stem Cell Therapies (CSCT), and an affiliated member of the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative (CSCI) and Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), our lab devotes itself to understanding the molecular mechanisms of stemness underlying cellular reprogramming and resistance to viruses (R2) and human development and disease (D2). We employ genetic, genomic, and proteomic approaches combined with cellular and animal models to dissect the gene regulatory layers encompassing the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, post-translational, and epigenetic mechanisms underlying stemness control. 
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Our previous and ongoing research projects encompass the following four major areas:

Stem Cell and Developmental Potency 
We study totipotent stem cells, pluripotent stem cells, and expanded pluripotent stem cells

Cell Fate Determination and Manipulation
We study somatic cell reprogramming, cell rejuvenation via reprogramming and repair 

Cancer Stem Cell and Stem Cell Cancer
​We study the new roles of pluripotency factors in cancer stemness

Stem Cell Antiviral Immunity
​We study the intrinsic antiviral immunity of pluripotent stem cells