We study the functional importance of the non-coding genome in development and disease.

It is increasingly clear that the vast non-coding genome encodes important genetic information that regulates mammalian development and disease. The overall focus of the He lab is to understand the biological functions and the molecular regulation of various non-coding elements, including microRNAs (miRNAs) long ncRNAs, and more mysteriously, transposons. Using mammalian genetics, genomics, cell and molecular biology approaches, we aim to dissect the functional interplay between protein-coding genes and non-coding elements in development and disease, particularly in the context of preimplantation embryos, cilia biology, cancer biology and stem cells.