Jingyi Wu, PhD

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Academic Titles

Assistant Professor, Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Research Program Affiliation

Member, Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics

Member, Cancer Data Sciences

Research Abstract

The Wu Laboratory develops and applies cutting-edge genomics technologies to uncover the role of epigenetics in cancer. Like other tumor suppressors, epigenetic regulators are frequently mutated in cancer, raising two fundamental questions.

First, how do epigenetic changes contribute to tumorigenesis? While most studies have focused on epigenetic alterations impacting the expression of coding genes, largely due to technological limitations. Our lab seeks to push the boundaries by developing and deploying innovative genomics assays to investigate changes in non-coding regions.

Second, what epigenetic vulnerabilities can be targeted to develop novel therapies? Tumor-specific epigenetic alterations often make cancer cells more susceptible to conventional treatments and highly sensitive to epigenetic inhibitors. However, the mechanisms driving these vulnerabilities remain poorly understood. To address this, our lab will harness advanced epigenetic tools to dissect the pathways through which these therapies exert.