|
PI
|
|
Babak Javid
Babak Javid is a physician scientist with an interest in tuberculosis, infectious diseases and protein translational fidelity. He did his medical training in the UK, his PhD on antigen processing and presentation with Paul Lehner at Cambridge, and post-doctoral training on mycobacterial genetics with Eric Rubin at Harvard. He joined Tsinghua School of Medicine in October 2011.
Email: bjavid{at}gmail.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
|
Postdocs
Melody Toosky
Post-doc, Tsinghua University, 2012- present;
Ph.D., Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Dakota 2012;
B.S., Biology, University of California, Irvine 2004;
Hobbies: Chinese language, culture, music and food
Email: mtoosky{at}gmail.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
Mycobacterial infections are characterized by the need of the host to contain the invading pathogen as well as by the need of the pathogen to escape the host cell in order to infect other cells. An important phase during this interaction pertains to host cell death decision pathway. My project involves looking at this pathway using proteomic tools to get some clues about how mycobacteria can influence the manner in which host cells die.;
|
|
Graduate Students
|
|
Zhu, Junhao 朱军豪
Third-year Postgraduate Student (PTN Programme)
2011.09-present: College of Life Science, Peking University, PhD;
2007.09-2011.07: College of Life Science, Peking University ,Bachelor;
Hobbies: basketball, painting and cooking
E-mail address: newforlofe{at}gmail.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
In a homogeneous bacterial population (identical in genomic information), the phenotypes of individual cells may vary significantly due to gene expression, protein synthesis and other processes. One reason for this variation may be the rate of errors generated during protein synthesis (mistranslation), which we hypothesise may benefit cell survival when they are challenged by stress or antibiotics. I am designing novel reporters to measure mistranslation at the single cell level. I hope to find what's controlling the heterogeneity of mistranslation in a clonal population and a potential clues for novel drug development.
|
|
|
Su, Hongwei 苏宏伟
Second-year Postgraduate Student (PTN Programme)
2012.09-present: College of Life Science, Tsinghua University, PhD;
2007.09-2012.07: College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Jilin university, Bachelor;
Hobbies: basketball, and other sports, watching movies
Email: suhongwei0108{at}gmail.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
Based on previous work of the lab, mycobacteria could tolerate high mistranslation rates and this phenotype could help them to adapt to different kinds of environment including some antibiotic such as rifampicin. So there may be some specific elements which control translational fidelity.
My project is to find the genetic elements controlling mycobacterial translation fidelity using forward genetic screens.
|
|
|
Cai, Rongjun 蔡荣俊
Second-year Postgraduate Student
2012.09-present: School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, PhD;
2008.09-2012.07: College of Animal Sciences & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Bachelor;
Hobbies: computer techniques
Email: kim32000{at}hotmail.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
In mycobacteria tRNAAsn and tRNAGln are generated by a two-step synthesis, involving physiological misacylation to Glu-tRNAGln and Asp-tRNAAsn intermediates which are amidated to the cognate forms by GatCAB. I am focusing on the role of GatCAB in this indirect pathway to identify its potential link to relative mistranslation rate in mycobacteria. I am also interested in mechanisms to manipulate mycobacteria genetically including generation of SNPs via recombineering.
|
|
|
Long, Jing 龙晶
Second-year Postgraduate Student
2012.09-present: School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, PhD;
Hobbies: photography, food
My projects are based on the hypothesis that mistranslation may contribute to mycobacterial adaption to the intracellular environment. One of my projects is to verify the hypothesis by measuring the mycobacterial mistranslation rate before or after infection; the other one is to understand the interactions between the host and mycobacteria during the process of infection.
|
|
|
Li, Hao 李浩
First-year Postgraduate Student (PTN Programme)
2013.09-present: College of Life Science, Tsinghua University, PhD;
2011.07-2013.09: School of medicine, Tsinghua University, Research assistant;
2008.09-2011.07: Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Graduate student;
2004.08-2008.8: Henan Agricultural University, Bachelor degree;
Hobbies: basketball, hiking, movies
E-mail address: leehao{at}biomed.tsinghua.edu.cn (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
The Main research field: The interaction of Mycobacterial with the host.
Projects:
1: Research on the protein Trehalose-6-phosphate Phosphatase (OtsB2) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
2: Research on antigen presentation during mycobacterial infection.
|
|
|
Chen, Yanan 陈亚男
First-year Postgraduate Student (PTN Programme)
2013.09-present: College of Life Science, Tsinghua University, PhD;
2009.09-2013.07: College of Life Science, Nanjing Agricultural Universit, Bachelor;
Hobbies: Korean language, reading novels
Email: chenyanan90618{at}163.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
I am investigating the role of EF-Tu discrimination in mycobacterial mistranslation, which will examine one potential mechanism for mycobacterial mistranslation. The residing dogma states that misacylated tRNAs cannot take part in protein translation due to discrimination by EF-Tu, but this has not been investigated in vivo.
We know that fidelity in translation is associated with two key events: synthesis of correctly charged aminoacyl transfer RNAs (aa-tRNAs) by aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) and accurate selection of aa-tRNAs by the ribosome. However, the precise molecular mechanism of mycobacterial mistranslation is poorly understood.
Specifically, it is not known if mistranslation results from errors of ribosomal decoding or misacylation of amino-acylated tRNAs. This is particularly relevant since mycobacteria physiologically misacylate glutamine and asparagine tRNAs before modifying them to the correct form by the action of the enzyme GatCAB.
|
|
|
Zhang,Yiwei 张一薇
First-year Postgraduate Student
2013.09-present: College of Medicine, Tsinghua University, PhD;
2009.09-2013.07: College of Life Science, Nanjing Agricultural Universit, Bachelor;
Hobbies: Violin, travelling
Email: zhang-yw13{at}mails.tsinghua.edu.cn (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
The previous work of the lab indicates that mistranslation may help mycobacteria survive in some antibiotic environments such as rifampicin. This finding leads us to further think the mechanism and effects of mistranslation in eukaryote. So, I choose yeast as my research material, trying to find the genetic elements controlling translation fidelity and find out what effects mistranslation may have on eukaryote.
|
Research Staff
Duan,Lei 段蕾
Assistant / Lab manger
2013.08-present: School of medicine,Tsinghua University,Research assistant;
2010.09-2010.07: Shanxi medical University, Master degree;
2005.09-2010.07: Lanzhou University,Bachelor degree;
Hobbies: reading, cooking, music
Email: duanlei87{at}126.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
As an assistant,My work is to help Professor Babak Javid to deal with some paperworks between English and Chinese and to make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble in every possible aspect. As a lab manager, I am responsible for making our lab run in an orderly and efficient manner.
|
|
Wen Kawaji 雯雯
Research Assistant
2013-present: School of medicine, Tsinghua University, Research assistant;
2011-2013: Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, Master of Science;
2006-2011: Johns Hopkins University, Bachelor degree;
Hobbies: Food, books, films, and travel
E-mail address: wenkawaji{at}gmail.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
The Main research field: Small molecule screening.
Mistranslation is important and necessary for mTB phenotypic resistance. Through small molecule screening, we are looking for potential drugs that would play a role in translation fidelity.
|
|
Pan, Miaomiao 潘苗苗
Research Assistant
2012.07-present: School of medicine, Tsinghua University, Research assistant;
2009.09-2012.07: Nankai University, Master degree;
2005.09-2009.07: Shaanxi University of Technology, Bachelor degree.
Hobbies: reading, watching movies, climbing and sleeping
E-mail address: panmm99{at}gmail.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
I am interested in the hypothesis that a high phenotypic drug resistance in mycobacteria species is caused by high adaptive mistranslation. I am currently developing a gain of function reporter to measure the mistranslation rate using a M. smegmatis model. I will use this reporter assay to screen drugs in order to find hits which can decrease mycobacteria mistranslation. My ultimate goal is to decrease the phenotypic drug resistance of Mycobacteria tuberculosis. My hobbies are.
|
|
Undergraduate Students
|
|
Leng, Tianqi 冷天祺
Junior Undergraduate Student (Peking University)
Hobbies: Marvel superhero movies, swimming, table tennis and badminton.
Email: lengtq{at}gmail.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
My project investigates the repertoire and rate of mycobacterial mistranslation in the model organism Mycobacterium smegmatis. I will use gain of function luminescence reporters to accurately identify the rate of many different types of translational error.
|
|
|
He, Qiao 贺桥
Junior Undergraduate Student (Peking University)
Hobbies: Surfing Internet, playing basketball, reading
Email: rodefo{at}gmail.com (Please replace {at} to @ in the address.)
I am interested in using fluorescent reporters to measure mycobacterial mistranslation rates.
|
|
