# positions[].label
Professor and Presidential Impact Fellow

# positions[].organizations[].parent[].label
Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine

# overview
We are a synthetic biology and bioengineering lab focused on developing technologies that enable remote and programmable control of protein activity, cell signaling and designer cells. We pioneer chemical and synthetic biology approaches to address challenges in health and disease. We are particularly interested in (i) illuminating novel regulatory mechanisms of signal transduction that remain unresolved in Ca2+ signaling and inter-organelle communications; (ii) pioneering widely-applicable molecular tools for precise control of cellular events, (epi)genome engineering, and gene transcription; and (iii) developing innovative theranostic devices, programmable biologics and intelligent cell-based therapies (CAR-T) for cancer and neurodegeneration intervention. The tight integration among mechanistic studies, biomedical engineering, and translational sciences is a hallmark of my research. See highlights in: "Let there be light" (Scientia); "Optogenetics sparks new research tool" (NIH Biomedical Beat)

# keywords[]
Calcium Release-activated Calcium (crac) Channel

# keywords[]
Calcium Release Activated Calcium Channels

# keywords[]
Calcium Release Activated Calcium Channels

# keywords[]
1.1 Normal Biological Development And Functioning

# keywords[]
1.1 Normal Biological Development And Functioning

# keywords[]
1.1 Normal Biological Development And Functioning

# keywords[]
Calcium Release-activated Calcium Channel Protein 1 (ORAI1)

# keywords[]
Calcium Release Activated Calcium Channels

# keywords[]
1.1 Normal Biological Development And Functioning

# keywords[]
Stem Cell Research - Nonembryonic - Non-human

# keywords[]
Calcium Release Activated Calcium Channels

# keywords[]
5 Development Of Treatments And Therapeutic Interventions

# keywords[]
Calcium Release-activated Calcium Channel (crac)

# keywords[]
Intracellular Signaling Peptides And Proteins

# keywords[]
Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, Alpha Subunit

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Zhejiang University - (Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Georgia State University - (Atlanta, Georgia, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Georgia State University - (Atlanta, Georgia, United States)

# awardsAndHonors[].label
Junior Faculty Research Excellence Award

# publications[].label
Calmodulin mediates the Ca2+-dependent regulation of Cx44 gap junctions.

# publications[].label
Near-infrared photoactivatable control of Ca2+ signaling and optogenetic immunomodulation

# publications[].label
Expanding PROTACtable genome universe of E3 ligases.

# publications[].label
Tmem178 negatively regulates store-operated calcium entry in myeloid cells via association with STIM1.

# publications[].label
The STIM-Orai Pathway: Light-Operated Ca2+ Entry Through Engineered CRAC Channels.

# publications[].label
Ion channel signalling mechanisms in physiology and disease.

# publications[].label
Optogenetic control of calcium influx in mammalian cells.

# publications[].label
Viral calciomics: interplays between Ca2+ and virus.

# publications[].label
Finding NEMO: The quest for next-generation genetically encoded calcium indicators.

# publications[].label
Genetically encoded tags for real time dissection of protein assembly in living cells.

# publications[].label
Targeted DNA methylation in vivo using an engineered dCas9-MQ1 fusion protein.

# publications[].label
STIM1 triggers a gating rearrangement at the extracellular mouth of the ORAI1 channel.

# publications[].label
Intelligent cell-based therapies for cancer and autoimmune disorders.

# publications[].label
Engineering Supramolecular Organizing Centers for Optogenetic Control of Innate Immune Responses.

# publications[].label
A single EF-hand isolated from STIM1 forms dimer in the absence and presence of Ca2+.

# publications[].label
Identification of the calmodulin binding domain of connexin 43.

# publications[].label
A "light" touch on PI3K to interrogate cancer drug resistance.

# publications[].label
Genome-wide CRISPR screen identifies AC9 as a key regulator of ER Ca2+ homeostasis involved in neuronal differentiation

# publications[].label
Systematic Profiling of DNMT3A Variants Reveals Protein Instability Mediated by the DCAF8 E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Adaptor.

# publications[].publisher
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

# publications[].label
Tet2 Inactivation Enhances the Antitumor Activity of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes.

# publications[].publisher
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

# publications[].label
Calcium Entry Channels in Non-Excitable Cells

# publications[].label
TMEM110 regulates the maintenance and remodeling of mammalian ER-plasma membrane junctions competent for STIM-ORAI signaling.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Probing Ca2+-binding capability of viral proteins with the EF-hand motif by grafting approach.

# publications[].label
Calcium sensing by the STIM1 ER-luminal domain.

# publications[].label
Molecular interaction and functional regulation of connexin50 gap junctions by calmodulin.

# publications[].label
Calcium oscillations coordinate feather mesenchymal cell movement by SHH dependent modulation of gap junction networks.

# publications[].label
Stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) and Orai1 mediate histamine-evoked calcium entry and nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) signaling in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

# publications[].label
A combination strategy targeting enhancer plasticity exerts synergistic lethality against BETi-resistant leukemia cells.

# publications[].label
Identification and dissection of Ca(2+)-binding sites in the extracellular domain of Ca(2+)-sensing receptor.

# publications[].label
STIM1 gates the store-operated calcium channel ORAI1 in vitro.

# publications[].label
Store-Operated Calcium Entry Mediated byORAIand STIM.

# publications[].label
Functional elements on SIRPalpha IgV domain mediate cell surface binding to CD47.

# publications[].label
Optogenetics for transcriptional programming and genetic engineering.

# publications[].label
Calmodulin regulates Ca2+-sensing receptor-mediated Ca2+ signaling and its cell surface expression.

# publications[].label
A STIMulating journey into optogenetic engineering.

# publications[].label
Minimal Requirement for Store-Operated Calcium Entry: STIM1 Gates ORAI1 Channels in Vitro

# publications[].label
Shedding light on ORAI1 channel with genetic code expansion.

# publications[].label
Harnessing natural killer cells to develop next-generation cellular immunotherapy.

# publications[].label
Decoding the dynamic DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation landscapes in endodermal lineage intermediates during pancreatic differentiation of hESC.

# publications[].label
Initial activation of STIM1, the regulator of store-operated calcium entry.

# publications[].label
A molecular toolbox for interrogation of membrane contact sites.

# publications[].label
Engineering of NEMO as calcium indicators with large dynamics and high sensitivity.

# publications[].label
Identification of a Ca2+-binding domain in the rubella virus nonstructural protease.

# publications[].label
Identification of A STIM1 Splicing Variant that Promotes Tumor Growth

# publications[].label
Calciomics: integrative studies of Ca2+-binding proteins and their interactomes in biological systems.

# publications[].label
Nano-optogenetic engineering of CAR T cells for precision immunotherapy with enhanced safety.

# publications[].label
A Combination Strategy Targeting Enhancer Plasticity Exerts Synergistic Lethality Against Beti-Resistant Leukemia Cells

# publications[].label
Recent developments in fluorescent aptasensors for detection of antibiotics

# publications[].label
Elucidation of a novel extracellular calcium-binding site on metabotropic glutamate receptor 1{alpha} (mGluR1{alpha}) that controls receptor activation.

# publications[].label
A cysteine-rich metal-binding domain from rubella virus non-structural protein is essential for viral protease activity and virus replication.

# publications[].label
Identification of molecular determinants that govern distinct STIM2 activation dynamics.

# publications[].label
Targeting epigenetic regulatory machinery to overcome cancer therapy resistance.

# publications[].label
STIM2 interacts with AMPK and regulates calcium-induced AMPK activation.

# publications[].label
Mechanism of Activation of Calcium Channel Orai1 by its Regulatory Partner Stim1

# publications[].label
Inhibiting the cGASSTING pathway in myeloid cells effectively improves myocardial healing related to TET2 deficiencyinduced DNA damage response

# publications[].label
Rewiring Calcium Signaling for Precise Transcriptional Reprogramming.

# publications[].label
Multiple Ca(2+)-binding sites in the extracellular domain of the Ca(2+)-sensing receptor corresponding to cooperative Ca(2+) response.

# publications[].label
Expanding the Chemogenetic Toolbox by Circular Permutation.

# publications[].label
TET2 modulates spatial relocalization of heterochromatin in aged hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

# publications[].label
Remote control of cellular immunotherapy

# publications[].label
Prediction of EF-hand calcium-binding proteins and analysis of bacterial EF-hand proteins.

# publications[].label
Optogenetic engineering of STING signaling allows remote immunomodulation to enhance cancer immunotherapy.

# publications[].label
Chronic alcohol drinking persistently suppresses thalamostriatal excitation of cholinergic neurons to impair cognitive flexibility.

# publications[].publisher
American Society for Clinical Investigation

# publications[].label
Design of Smart Antibody Mimetics with Photosensitive Switches.

# publications[].label
Caffeine-Operated Synthetic Modules for Chemogenetic Control of Protein Activities by Life Style.

# publications[].label
STIM1 and lipid interactions at ER-PM contact sites.

# publications[].label
Optogenetic engineering for ion channel modulation.

# publications[].label
Calciomics: prediction and analysis of EF-hand calcium binding proteins by protein engineering.

# publications[].label
Optical control of protein delivery and partitioning in the nucleolus.

# publications[].label
Pore architecture of the ORAI1 store-operated calcium channel.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Calcium-dependent association of calmodulin with the rubella virus nonstructural protease domain.

# publications[].label
TRIM59 deficiency curtails breast cancer metastasis through SQSTM1-selective autophagic degradation of PDCD10.

# publications[].label
Cam Interaction and Binding Mode Study with Peptide from Intracellular Loop of Cx50

# publications[].label
The LINK-A lncRNA activates normoxic HIF1 signalling in triple-negative breast cancer.

# publications[].label
A Chemogenetic Toolkit for Inducible, Cell Type-Specific Actin Disassembly.

# publications[].label
Differential Lipid Binding Specificities of RAP1A and RAP1B are Encoded by the Amino Acid Sequence of the Membrane Anchors.

# publications[].label
Perturbing TET2 condensation promotes aberrant genome-wide DNA methylation and curtails leukaemia cell growth.

# publications[].label
The disordered N-terminal domain of DNMT3A recognizes H2AK119ub and is required for postnatal development.

# publications[].publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

# publications[].label
Red-shifted optogenetics comes to the spotlight.

# publications[].label
Rational design of protein-based MRI contrast agents.

# researcherOn[].label
Optogenetic Toolkit for Remote Control of Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.preferredLabel
DHHS-NIH-National Institute of General Medical Science

# researcherOn[].label
Role of TET dioxygenase associated immune mechanisms in cardiac injury and repair

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.preferredLabel
DHHS-NIH-National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

# researcherOn[].label
Optogenetic Toolkit for Precise Epigenome Editing in Cancer Cells

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas - (Austin, Texas, United States)

# researcherOn[].label
TET-Mediated Epigenetic Regulation in Cardiac Development

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.preferredLabel
DHHS-NIH-National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

# researcherOn[].label
Molecular Control of Calcium Influx at the ER-Plasma Membrane Junctions

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.preferredLabel
DHHS-NIH-National Institute of General Medical Science

# streetAddress
Texas A&M University -IBT; Ibt Center For Translational Cancer Research; 1201 TAMUS

# organizations[]
Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine

# schools[]
Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine

# inTheNews[].label
Researchers at Texas A&M using caffeine to help fight off viruses like COVID-19