Junsu Kang
Credentials: Cell & Regenerative Biology Department
Position title: Regeneration, zebrafish, enhancer, fin, heart
Email: junsu.kang@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-8678
Address:
Wi Institute Medical Research
1111 Highland Ave
Madison, WI 53705
LAB WEBSITE:
https://crb.wisc.edu/staff/kang-junsu/
FOCUS GROUPS:
Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine; Transcriptional Mechanisms
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
The capacity for complex tissue regeneration is unevenly distributed among vertebrate tissues and species. Zebrafish possess a remarkable potential to regenerate tissues such as amputated appendages and damaged heart muscles. My overarching research goal is to understand how genetic and epigenetic factors control tissue regeneration at cellular and molecular levels. Specifically, my laboratory uses adult zebrafish to investigate roles of crucial regeneration genes, regulatory mechanisms underlying their regeneration-specific expression, and functions of key chromatin modifiers during tissue regeneration. Using cutting edge techniques and high-throughput screening assays, I will define gene regulatory networks of tissue regeneration. Additionally, I plan to use my research experience to elucidate molecular mechanisms of unexplored regeneration genes that I identified by forward genetic screening. Long-term goals of my research are to translate knowledge obtained from my basic research to advance therapeutic strategies of tissue repair in humans.
ALSO A TRAINER IN THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS: Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology (MCP), Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology (CMP), Physiology