Junyue Cao, PhD

Single-cell transcriptome and epigenome profiling of aging on a whole organismal scale

An in-depth characterization of molecular program dynamics for a variety of tissues across the life span will advance our understanding of many aspects of aging biology. Here Dr. Cao proposes to apply high-throughput single-cell genomic techniques to comprehensively profile the transcript isoform expression and chromatin dynamics across millions of cells during the aging process. A global view of single-cell molecular dynamics in aging tissues could broadly inform our understanding of how cell population homeostasis is maintained and disturbed across the lifespan, as well as the design of effective strategies for aging-related therapies.