Dr. Fulai Jin has an interdisciplinary background and formal training in molecular biology, computer sciences, and statistics. He got bachelor’s degrees in biology and computer sciences from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), and then PhD degree in Molecular and Medical Pharmacology from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In graduate school, Dr. Jin worked in the field of chemical biology performing screens for small molecules or drug target genes using various functional genomic approaches. After graduation, Dr. Jin did his postdoc training at Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and switched to the field of genomics, epigenetics, and transcription regulation. Dr. Jin joined the CWRU faculty in 2015 and is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences.
I study molecular mechanisms and gene regulatory functions of 3D genome architecture, computational and system biology tools for integrative analysis of genomic data, and single cell transcriptome/epigenome technologies in health and disease.
Research Information
Research Projects
In the 3D space, mammalian genome is folded and packed in a highly organized fashion. Besides the well-known chromatin relaxation and compaction associated with "open" and "closed" chromatin, DNA also form long-range loops which allow contacts between various cis-regulatory elements, including promoters, enhancers, and insulators. Genome organization may play key roles in health and diseases. For example, mutations at enhancers may alter the expression levels of target genes from hundreds of kilobases away, leading to human diseases. We are interested in the global study of 3D genome architecture. We develop methods and technologies to enable robust and affordable high resolution 3D genome mapping with low-input and single cell samples. We also study the function of 3D genome in a variety development and disease models, including stem cell, cancer, diabetes, and neurological diseases. Besides 3D genome technologies, the Jin lab members will also be exposed to CRISPR tools, single cell technologies including scRNA-seq and snATAC-seq, as well as multi-OMIC data integration. Our research is supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health.
The Jin lab is actively seeking highly motivated students and postdocs with either experimental or computational (or both) lab experiences. Please contact Dr. Jin via fxj45@case.edu to discuss possible positions or projects.