Lin He

Research Expertise and Interest

comparative genomics, developmental biology, cell biology, cancer biology

Research Description

Lin He is the Thomas and Stacey Siebel Distinguished Chair in Stem Cell Research and a professor in molecular & cell biology and UC Berkeley with research interests in the functional importance of the non-coding genome. The number of protein-coding genes clearly fails to correlate with the developmental and pathological complexity in mammals. Her research group's overall research interest is to understand the unique biological functions and molecular regulation of various non-coding RNAs and transposable elements in development and disease. Her group aims to understand the distinct biological functions and molecular regulation conferred by miRNAs, long ncRNAs and retrotransposons in development and disease using an interdisciplinary approach combining mouse genetics, genomics, imaging studies, cell biology, and molecular biology. Their studies have provided important insights on the fundamental molecular mechanisms that govern the unique functional complexity of the non-coding genome.

In the News

So-Called Junk DNA Plays Critical Role in Mammalian Development

A new study led by researchers at University of California, Berkeley, and Washington University explored the function of one component of this junk DNA, transposons, which are selfish DNA sequences able to invade their host genome. The study shows that at least one family of transposons — ancient viruses that have invaded our genome by the millions — plays a critical role in viability in the mouse, and perhaps in all mammals.

CRISPR-EZ: Improving on a Good Thing

Lin He’s lab uses CRISPR technology to study how different genetic elements in a mouse embryo’s cell nucleus – genes that encode proteins, functional RNAs, and repetitive sequences – interact to assure normal development or trigger cancer.
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