Project 3: Single-cell live imaging cell division and dynamics during organ regeneration in vivo and in culture in vitro (students who are passionate about photography are encouraged to apply. Experiences with photography and imaging processing are a plus but not required)
Guo Huang, Professor
UC San Francisco
Applications for Fall 2024 are closed for this project.
Current studies of mouse heart regeneration are largely limited to postmortem analysis of heart tissue to explore cellular activity and molecular mechanisms. We aim to combine a novel imaging window system designed and surgically implanted on the mouse chest by the Huang Lab at UCSF with the free-space angular-chirp-enhance delay (FACED) kilohertz-frame-rate microscopy system developed by the Ji Lab at UC Berkeley. With ultrafast fluorescent imaging of the beating heart in vivo, we aim to observe the dynamic behavior of single cardiomyocytes during the regenerative process after injury, track the formation of new vascular networks within the heart tissue that arise to compensate for ischemic injury, and investigate how immune cells interact with cardiovascular cells to facilitate regeneration. Long-term and high-resolution imaging of the mouse heart in vivo would allow the characterization of the behaviors and interactions of various cardiac cell types in their native environment during the regenerative process, uncovering unprecedented insights into the dynamic process of endogenous cardiac repair. In parallel, we plan to establish cell culture and slice culture systems for single-cell imaging of cell dynamics in vitro.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Publications from previous URAP students [name]:
1. Hirose, K.*, Payumo, A. Y.*, Cutie, S., [Hoang, A.], et al., and Huang, G. N. (*, equal contribution) (2019 Apr) Evidence for hormonal control of heart regenerative capacity during endothermy acquisition. Science
2. Cutie, S., [Hoang, A. T.], Payumo, A. Y., and Huang, G. N. (2017 Dec) Unconventional functions of muscles in planarian regeneration. Developmental Cell
3. Hirose, K., [Chang, S.], et al., and Huang, G. N. (Submitted) Loss of a novel striated muscle-enriched mitochondrial protein Coq10a enhances postnatal cardiac hypertrophic growth.
4. [Amram, A.], Cutie, S., and Huang, G. N. (2021 Jan) Hormonal control of cardiac regenerative potential. Endocrine Connections
5. [Khyeam, S.], [Lee, S.], and Huang, G. N. (2021 May) Genetic, epigenetic, and postâtranscriptional basis of divergent tissue regenerative capacities among vertebrates. Advanced Genetics, e10042
6. Payumo, A. Y.*, Chen, X.*, Hirose, K., Chen, X., Hoang, A., [Khyeam, S.], Yu, H., Wang, J., Chen, Q., [Powers, N.], Chen, L., Bigley, R. B., Lovas, J., Hu, G., and Huang, G. N. (*, equal contribution) (2021 Sep) Adrenergic-thyroid hormone interactions drive postnatal thermogenesis and loss of mammalian heart regenerative capacity. Circulation
7. [Amram AV], Cutie S, Huang GN. (2021 Jan) Hormonal control of cardiac regenerative potential. Endocr Connect.
8. [Khyeam S], [Lee S], Huang GN. (2021 Jun) Genetic, Epigenetic, and Post-Transcriptional Basis of Divergent Tissue Regenerative Capacities Among Vertebrates. Adv Genetics.
9. [Powers N], Huang GN. (2022 May) Mending a broken heart with novel cardiogenic small molecules. Cell Regeneration
10. [Powers N], Huang GN. (2022 May) Visualization of regenerating and repairing hearts. Clin Sci.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please include in the application
(1) your career plan,
(2) daily schedule of committed hours to perform research in the lab (please exclude the commute time),
(3) prior research experience if any,
(4) a link to your LinkedIn profile (with your head photo),
(5) (optional) experience of photography, painting or related experience that demonstrates strong visual artistic senses if any,
(6) (optional) experience that demonstrates strong hand skills if any,
(7) (optional) a one-sentence description if you are from diverse backgrounds in but not limited to ethnicity, sexual orientation, and geography (including international students with F1 visa).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Role: Candidates will work with postdoctoral fellows and staff researchers in the lab. Students will also have the opportunity to engage directly with the professor.
Potential techniques and experience acquired during the training include:
- Advanced imaging microscopy on cell culture and live or fixed tissues and animals.
Qualifications: This position is open to all who are highly passionate about photography. Experiences with photography and imaging processing are a plus but not required.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Marco de Leon, Post-Doc
Hours: 12 or more hours
Off-Campus Research Site: This project involve both research activities on campus at Berkeley and off campus at UCSF (Mission Bay campus: 555 Mission Bay Blvd South, San Francisco).
Related website: http://www.cvri.ucsf.edu/~huang/lab/Research.html
Biological & Health Sciences