Jin Lab @ Emory

Epigenetic regulation, including DNA methylation and histone modification, play significant roles in mammalian development and human diseases. It has been proposed that epigenetic modulations could serve as an intermediate process that imprints dynamic environmental experiences on the “fixed” genome, resulting in stable alterations in phenotype. RNAs are an integral component of chromosomes and contribute to their structural organization. RNAs can regulate gene expression at many levels and by using an array of mechanisms. The genome project has shown that at least 93% of analyzed human genome nucleotides are transcribed in different cells, with similar findings for the mouse and other eukaryotes, indicating that there may be a vast reservoir of biologically meaningful RNAs that could far exceed the ~1.2% encoding proteins. The long-term goal of our research group is to combines various disciplines (genetics, biochemistry, chemistry, human genetics/genomics, and bioinformatics) to understand the roles of epigenetics and noncoding RNAs in human diseases, particularly neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.