Research Topics
Research Overview
The Sun Ren Laboratory has long been dedicated to virology and immunology research. Utilizing systems biology approaches, the lab integrates genomics, proteomics, structural biology, and mathematical modeling to investigate the mechanisms of viral invasion into host organisms. The team has achieved several groundbreaking milestones, including the first-ever functional mapping of a viral genome at single-nucleotide resolution. Based on this map, they pioneered the precise design of viral vaccines at single-amino-acid resolution. Additionally, they were the first to decipher the structure of an asymmetric RNA viral genome at atomic resolution, laying a solid foundation for the development of novel vaccine design strategies.
Define the functions of viral genome at high resolution and develop new vaccines
Our goal is to develop and use systems biology approaches to comprehensive investigate the functions of viral genome and viral-host interactions of important human viruses (such as SARS-CoV-2, influenza A virus, HBV, tumor-associated herpesviruses, and HIV). The functional genomic maps will enable precision design of viral genomes to engineer novel vaccines.
Systematically profile adaptive immune responses post infection or vaccination.
Our team is developing and using high-throughput technology platforms to map epitope-specific antibody, B cell and T cell responses, to systematically define the immunome of hosts post infection or vaccination. These technology platforms will be also applied to studies on cancers, auto-immune diseases and neuroimmunology.
Define protein structures and engineer protein binders for diagnosis and therapies
We have integrated in vitro evolution, protein structure characterization and mass spectrometry technologies to engineer proteins and to understand the principles of protein-protein interactions. Our goal is to generate or further improve protein binders for disease diagnosis and therapies.