General
   

Research Areas

non-coding RNA; Epigenetics; Developmental Biology; Reproductive Biology

Education

2016-present: Professor, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences


2010-2016: Postdoc, Gregory Hannon Lab, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, US


2007-2010:Postdoc, Timothy Nilsen Lab, Case Western Reserve University, US


2002-2007: PhD, Timothy Nilsen Lab, Case Western Reserve University, US


1998-2002: B.S., Wuhan University, China

Publications

Yu Y., Gu J., Jin Y., Luo Y., Preall J., Ma J., Czech B. and Hannon G.J. (2015) Panoramix enforces piRNA-dependent co-transcriptional silencing. Science, 350 (6258): 339-342.　　

Vagin, V.*,Yu Y.*, Jankowska A.*, Luo Y., Malone C.D., Harrison E., Rosebrock A., Wakimoto B.T., Fagegaltier D., Muerdter F. and Hannon G.J.. (2013) Minotaur is critical for primary piRNA biogenesis. RNA, 19(8): 1064-77. (* equal contribution).　　

Muerdter F., Guzzardo P.M., Gillis J., Luo Y., Yu Y., Chen C., Fekete R. and Hannon G.J.. (2013) A genome-wide RNAi screen draws a genetic framework for transposon control and primary piRNA biogenesis in Drosophila. Mol Cell, 50(5): 736-748.　　

Yu Y., Maroney P.A., Denker J.A., Zhang X.H., Dybkov O., Luhrmann R., Jankowsky E., Chasin L.A. and Nilsen T.W. (2008). Dynamic regulation of alternative splicing by silencers that modulate 5' splice site competition. Cell, 135(7): 1224-36.　　

Maroney P.A., Yu Y., Fisher J. and Nilsen T.W. (2006). Evidence that microRNAs are associated with translating messenger RNAs in human cells. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 13(12):1102-7.　　

Maroney P.A., Yu Y. and Nilsen T.W. (2006). MicroRNAs, mRNAs, and translation. Cold Spring Harbor Symposium Quantitative Biol. 71:531-5.


Book Chapters

Yu Y. and Nilsen T.W. (2009). Mechanisms by which microRNAs regulate gene expression in animal cells. In Regulation of Gene Expression by Small RNAs. Gaur R.K. and Rossi J.J. Eds. CRC Press.

Research Interests

Transposons comprise nearly half of the human genome. Transposon control is extremely challenging because the host must distinguish diverse elements from protein coding genes and selectively silence the former. Mutations in the piRNA pathway often result in dramatic transposon overexpression and consequently render the organism completely sterile. Work from the past has provided a basic model for germline protection by the piRNA system; however, we are only just beginning to understand many of the molecular events that comprise this RNA-guided “innate immune” system. Moreover, we have not yet grasped the full range of biological functions of small RNAs. For example, what is the function of maternally deposited piRNAs during early development? What role do pachytene piRNAs play in different phases of mouse spermatogenesis? We have very few clues as to how the mysterious piRNA pathway participates in those important events. The piRNA pathway sits at the intersection of epigenetics, developmental biology and small RNA biology. The long-term goal of the lab is to understand roles of RNA in epigenetic memory and explore its potential as therapeutic targets. Currently, we are trying to understand both the biological roles and mechanism of action of piRNAs during early development and gametogenesis.


Students

现指导学生

苗娜  硕士研究生  071009-细胞生物学  

刘俊良   硕士研究生  071009-细胞生物学  

孟妍   硕士研究生  071009-细胞生物学  

卢晓华  博士研究生  071010-生物化学与分子生物学  

Honors & Distinctions

Travel Award from Mobile Genetic Elements, Woods hole, MA, September 2015.
Best Poster Award at CSH-Asia Conference: RNA Biology. Suzhou, China, October, 2012.
American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship Award. July 2009 to June 2011.
Travel Award for Eukaryotic mRNA Processing meeting at Cold Spring Harbor. August, 2009.
The Young Scientist Program Fellowship, 21st IUBMB and 12th FAOBMB International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: “Biomolecules for Quality of Life”, Shanghai, China. July, 2009.
Keystone Symposia Scholarship, Keystone Meeting on The Biology of RNA Silencing at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. April, 2009.