Investigators

Summary

Dr. Du's research is centered on pathophysiology of hematologic diseases such as bone marrow (BM) failure and leukemia. She has a broad background in hematopoiesis, stem cell biology & aging, cellular metabolism and tumor microenvironment, with specific training and expertise in DNA damage response/repair, metabolite profiling, and in vivo disease modeling. Her early research covered understanding the mechanism of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) mobilization and BM niche engraftment as well as the factors implicated in cell proliferation and apoptosis; identification of functional interactions between certain factors implicated in cell polarity, adhesion/migration, stem cell metabolism and aging. Her current research interests include: 1) Define the molecular and functional collaboration between a major cell signaling (FA) pathway and immunometabolic regulation in HSCs; 2) Target stem cell-niche interaction for improved therapy for patients with bone marrow failure and leukemia; 3) Study a novel interplay between DDR and immune responses in FA leukemogenesis; 4) Study on the systemic immune effects of persistent DNA damage using mouse and human models of DNA repair deficiency and aging; and 5) Mechanistic and functional elucidation of the role of a novel paracrine Wnt5a-Prox1 signaling axis in regulating HSC regeneration under conditions of injury and aging.