Xiaoyue Han

Research interests

I have been a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Xin Lu's lab since 2018. One of my research interests is understanding the regulation of stemness, differentiation and metaplasia with clinical biopsy-generated 3D organoids. I am strongly interested in collecting and establishing organoid and fibroblast libraries from endoscopy biopsies (Barrett’s oesophagus, gastric and duodenum) and tumour samples from oesophagus/gastric cancer surgery resections. I have found a dramatic phenotype change in the human duodenum organoids under the WNT-deprived condition.

My current research interest is to understand how ASPP2 regulate the actomyosin network. ASPP2 is an evolutionarily conserved member of the ASPP (Ankryin repeats, SH3 domain and Proline-rich containing protein/Apoptosis stimulation protein of p53) family. ASPP2 was originally identified as a binding partner and a transcriptional activator of p53.  In clinical, a mutated ASPP2 is a causal gene in a large glaucoma family, and a heterozygous deletion of ASPP2 contributes to neurological disorders observed in 1q41-42 microdeletion syndrome patients. ASPP2 binds to Par3 and locates at the apical tight junction to regulate the cell polarity. ASPP2 also binds to protein phosphatase 1 to regulate the cellular phosphorylation-dephosphorylation process. Therefore, I am interested in investigating ASPP2's role in the actomyosin network and cell migration.

Background

I got my PhD degree from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. My research focused on the design and synthesis of ratiometric near-infrared fluorescent probes for the real-time bioimaging of reactive molecules in different diseases, including inflammation and cancer. The fluorescent probe is a visible chemical analytical tool capable of real-time imaging, detecting, identifying and quantifying biomolecules in living cells and in vivo. As a non-invasive promising method, it has been used to sense the biomolecules in signalling transduction pathways, visualize the biomarkers of diseases, track the drug deliveries, evaluate the effects of therapies, and monitor the environmental affections on the physiopathological processes. The organism has been actively and constantly challenged and changed by environmental factors, which will interfere with the cellular signal transduction, disturb enzyme synthesis and even cause a series of diseases. Therefore, during my PhD, I synthesized and exploited a series of fluorescent probes that can image biomolecules under environmental stress to help understand the relationship between environmental stress and biomolecules with depth and thought.

• The Special Prize of President Scholarship of Postgraduate Student, China.
• National Scholarship of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.