Tracing cell lineages is fundamental for understanding the rules governing development in multicellular organisms and delineating complex biological processes involving the differentiation of multiple cell types with distinct lineage hierarchies. In humans, experimental lineage tracing is unethical, and one has to rely on natural-mutation markers that are created within cells as they proliferate and age. We have demonstrated that it is now possible to trace lineages in normal, noncancerous cells with a vari
Single-cell sequencing is the ultimate way to study somatic mosaicism in healthy tissues and in cancer. However, due to the scarcity of DNA in a single cell, an amplification process is required. Such amplifications can be achieved via clonal expansion, in which a single cell is cultured to produce a colony, and via in vitro whole genome amplification (WGA), in which DNA is amplified by using polymerases. We are currently formulating strategies for the quality control of WGA and to distinguish signal from n
During the past decade, high-throughput next-generation technologies coupled with computational algorithms have enabled us to better understand the biology of cancer as well as the molecular underpinnings of its development and progression. Numerous functionally significant point mutations as well as structural alterations have been identified in several types and subtypes of cancers that illustrate the diverse landscape of the cancer genome. In our laboratory, we focus on the discovery and analysis of soma