We are interested in the mechanism of initiation and progression of cancer; the molecular mechanism underlying chromosome instability. Multiple systems are used in our laboratory to depending on the specific questions chosen by the lab members: first, we utilize cultured human cell lines for identifying detailed mechanisms using biochemical & cell biological methods; we make mutant mice based on the mechanism we built to understand the physiological cosequence and also to confirm the results in vivo; for visualizing chromosome segregation and study mitosis at the organismal level, we use zebrafish. In summary we try to understand the basis of genetic instability of cancer using multiple systems; cell lines, mouse, and zebrafish. Specific questions are listed below.
1. Chromosome instability in BRCA2-deficient mice
2. Regulatory Mechanisms of BubR1 Spindle assembly checkpoint
3. Understanding mitosis using zebrafish as a model organism
4. Visualizing mitosis in mice (Knockout, Knock-in and transgenic mice) and zebrafish