I am an assistant research fellow at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica. I am broadly interested in the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular organization and how they control normal physiology in living organisms. I have a long-standing interest in dissecting the intricate interplay between the cytoskeleton and organelles, in particular the microtubules, centrosomes, and the Golgi apparatus. During my PhD training with Dr. Joachim Seemann at UT Southwestern, I uncovered the mechanism by which the microtubule-based spindle mediates Golgi inheritance and biogenesis. My subsequent work further revealed that the Golgi complex in turn regulates spindle formation and orientation by assembling microtubules from the membranes. I also contributed to several important studies on Golgi-related functions including protein trafficking, cell polarization and cell migration. Furthermore, working with chemists, I identified the mechanism of action of a cytotoxic compound and its cellular target tubulin. To expand my research scope and depth, I then worked with Dr. David Agard at UCSF/HHMI to determine the factors and mechanisms that drive g-TuRC-mediated microtubule nucleation. Coming back to Taiwan as an independent PI, I have built my research program not only based on my prior background and training, but also by leveraging the expertise available in the local scientific community. I have successfully established several new lines of research which focuses on: (1) structure and function of centrosomes and cilia, (2) organelle dynamics in meiosis and spermatogenesis, (3) neuronal migration and differentiation.

Our research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular organization and how these mechanisms regulate normal physiology in living organisms. The overall goal of our work is to elucidate, at molecular, cellular, and developmental levels, how microtubules and microtubule-based organelles such as centrosomes and cilia are organized, and how their dysregulation contributes to developmental defects and disease.

To address these fundamental questions, we employ a multidisciplinary approach that integrates biophysics, biochemistry, cell biology, advanced super-resolution imaging, cell engineering, single-cell RNA transcriptomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, and mouse genetics.