Approach
We take a multidisciplinary approach with strong wet lab and dry lab synergy and focus on clinical translation for children with cancer. The Ding lab aims to leverage expertise in clinical medicine, experimental genomics, and systems biology to develop improved combination precision medicine for children with leukemias that are more effective with less toxicity. We believe that by combining cutting-edge technologies with collaborative and interdisciplinary expertise in bioinformatics, functional genomics, and clinical medicine, we can overcome the challenges of leukemia resistance and relapse. We are committed to advancing the field of pediatric leukemia research and to training the next generation of scientists and clinicians.
Interests
Our research program focuses upon discovering targetable co-vulnerabilities in kinase-deregulated leukemias via integration of multi-omics data at bulk- and single- cell levels. We are studying transcriptional rewiring and drug-induced heterogeneity that can lead to targeted agent resistance, and leukemia cell plasticity during treatment. Our studies utilize functional genomics, epigenetics, bulk, and single-cell next generation sequencing technologies, cell culture models, and specialized patient-derived xenograft models. We focus on a common, high-risk subtype of leukemia, Philadelphia chromosome-like ALL (Ph-like ALL) which has poor clinical outcomes, and plan to expand our studies to other poor-prognosis pediatric leukemias.
