Principal Investigator Richard Young
The transcriptional regulatory networks that control differentiation and maintenance of human tissues are uncharted. We are using genome-scale analysis methods to determine how key regulators of specific human tissues control the global gene expression programs that characterize such tissues. Results show that the targets of key tissue regulators can be discovered in primary cells from human tissues. Among the regulators under study are several that, when mutated, cause human diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer
We are also investigating the tactics used by human pathogens, particilarly HIV, to undermine and survive host defenses. The effects of viral and bacterial infection on gene expression in human host cells is being explored with high-density DNA arrays. Such studies should improve our understanding of host-pathogen interactions, the mechanisms involved in immunity to infection, and the tools available to fight infectious diseases.