Research Labs by Department (2025)

Rachel Bailey, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

The Bailey lab focuses on developing gene therapies for neurological disorders. We work on monogenetic pediatric disorders, including SLC13A5 epileptic encephalopathy, multiple sulfatase deficiency, Charcot Marie Tooth disease type 4J, giant axonal neuropathy and ECHS1 deficiency.

Bailey Lab

Sarah Shahmoradian, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

The Shahmoradian lab investigates the roles of domain-specific neuronal proteins using advanced cryo-imaging techniques to understand their impact on cellular dynamics and neurological health.

Shahmoradian Lab

Chuo Chen, Ph.D.

Professor

We are interested in building small organic molecules and studying their functions in biological systems. Our lab started in 2004 using state-of-the-art tools to address challenging issues in the field of natural product synthesis.

Chuo Chen Lab

Yunsun Nam, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

The Nam lab asks how the shape of an RNA regulates its function. We study the biochemical and structural mechanisms in RNA-mediated gene regulation pathways important for normal and disease states.

Nam Lab

Jinfan Wang, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

The Wang lab applies single-molecule fluorescence biophysical, quantitative biochemical, structural, and genetics approaches to unravel the intricate relationships between structure, dynamics and function in complex dynamic biological systems. Our primary goal is to understand the dynamic mechanisms of cytosolic and mitochondrial protein synthesis and how they are dysregulated in human diseases.

Wang Lab

Jeon Lee, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Our research is aimed at innovating and translating computational technology to advance biomedical research and medical diagnoses/treatments.

Lee Lab

Daniel Siegwart, Ph.D.

Professor

We aim to globally understand how the physical and chemical properties of materials affect interactions with biological systems in the context of improving therapies.

Siegwart Lab

Jan Erzberger, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Jan’s Lab is interested in understanding the dynamics of protein-RNA complexes during ribosome biogenesis. We are particularly focused on the roles of ATPases in coordinating ribosomal RNA processing and remodeling events, as well as the importance of these enzymes in signaling between the ribosome biogenesis pathway and the cell cycle machinery.

Erzberger Lab

William Dauer, M.D.

Professor & Director

The central goal of the Dauer Lab is to unravel the molecular and cellular mechanisms of diseases that disrupt the motor system. In exploring these diseases, we also aim to understand a fundamental question relevant to CNS disease generally: what factors determine the selective vulnerability of particular cell types or circuits to insults? Our primary focus is on Parkinson’s disease and inherited forms of dystonia. We focus our efforts on disease genes that cause these disorders, employing a range of molecular, cellular, and whole animal studies to dissect the normal role of disease proteins, and how pathogenic mutations lead to disease.

Dauer Lab

Jinming Gao, Ph.D.

Professor

Weare working at the interface of nanotechnology, drug delivery, and tumor immunology.

Gao Lab

Beatriz Fontoura, Ph.D.

Professor

Our laboratory studies the cell biology of viral-host interactions.

Fontoura Lab

Joachim Seeman, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

The Seemann Lab studies themolecular mechanismsgoverning the function and inheritance of the mammalian Golgi apparatus.

Seemann Lab

Richard Wang, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Our research focuses on how the conserved signaling pathways that underlie normal skin development are altered during the development of non-melanoma skin cancers and inflammatory skin disease.

Wang Lab

James Brugarolas, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

To understand how kidney cancer develops at the molecular level, To translate our findings into new treatments for kidney cancer patients, To train the next generation of physicians and scientists.

Brugarolas Lab

Isaac Chan, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Our lab is creating better experimental models that reveal how cancer cells metastasize and evade our immune system. We use these models to develop new drugs that engage our immune system to kill cancer cells.

Chan Lab

Robert Toto, M.D.

Professor

My research interests include prevention of progression of renal diseases, diagnoses, and management of lipid disorders in renal disease, hypertensive nephrosclerosis, the role of angiotensin II converting enzyme inhibitors, and angiotensin II receptor blockers in renal disease.

Toto Lab

John Beckham, M.D.

Professor & Division Chief

The Beckham lab is a dynamic multidisciplinary laboratory that studies viral pathogenesis and neuroimmune response.

Beckham Lab

Nicholas Conrad, Ph.D.

Professor

The overarching goals of our lab are to understand the posttranscriptional mechanisms of gene expression and regulation in the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and its human host cell.We are particularly focused on the mechanisms and regulation of nuclear RNA stability, polyadenylation, and mRNA processing by viral and by host cell factors.

Conrad Lab

Orson Moe, M.D.

Professor

The Moe Lab specializes in translational pathophysiology that spans from individual molecules,in vitrocell models,in vivoanimal models, to metabolic human studies.

Moe Lab

Michael Buszczak, Ph.D.

Professor

Buszczak laboratory seeks to gain new insights into mRNA translation, ribosome biogenesis and germ cell biology.

Buszczak Lab

Joshua Mendell, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

The Mendell laboratory investigates fundamental aspects of post-transcriptional gene regulation, noncoding RNA regulation and function, and the roles of these pathways in normal physiology, cancer, and other diseases.

Mendell Lab

Kathryn O'Donnell-Mendell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

O'Donnell Lab investigates mechanisms of tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis using molecular and biochemical studies and animal model.

O'Donnell Lab

David Sanders, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

We seek to understand how RNA/protein assemblies control cellular states, and how related pathways are hijacked by diseases of aging.

Sanders Lab

Vincent Tagliabracci, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

The Tagliabracci Lab studies the phosphorylation of extracellular proteins by a novel family of secreted kinases. This kinase family is so different from canonical kinases that it was not included as a branch on the human kinome tree.

Tagliabracci Lab

Jun Wu, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

The Wu Laboratory mainly focuses on using stem cell models to gain novel insights in mammalian development and develop regenerative medical applications.

Wu Lab

Zhongzheng Fu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

At the Fu Lab of human neuroscience weinvestigate the neural bases of cognitive control.

Fu Lab

Jill Napierala, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

The mission of Napierala Labis to contribute to the development of therapies and a cure for Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) by elucidating molecular mechanisms causing the disease, developing novel cellular and animal models of FRDA, identifying disease biomarkers and testing novel therapeutic approaches.

Napierala Lab

Marek Napierala, Ph.D.

Professor

The mission of Napierala Labis to contribute to the development of therapies and a cure for Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) by elucidating molecular mechanisms causing the disease, developing novel cellular and animal models of FRDA, identifying disease biomarkers and testing novel therapeutic approaches.

Napierala Lab

Weichun Lin, Ph.D.

Professor

The goal of Lin (Weichun) Lab's research is to understand how neurons establish synaptic connections during development, and how these connections are maintained throughout adulthood. Toward this goal, we are currently focusing on the following two areas of research.

Lin Lab

Kevin (Kyung) Park, Ph.D.

Professor

Dr. Park’s research focuses on the visual system and how the projection neurons in the retina, the retinal ganglion cell axons, find their targets and form synapses in the brain. He is investigating two key areas: 1) cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the death of neurons and lack of regeneration in the central nervous system after injury and in degenerative diseases like glaucoma and 2) mechanisms by which neurons form proper connections with each other.

Park Lab

Matthew Petroll, Ph.D.

Professor

Petroll Lab applies engineering approaches and design principles to the investigation of fundamental clinical and biological problems in ophthalmology, while providing training to graduate students, medical students, and post-docs.

Petroll Lab

Vinod Mootha, M.D.

Professor

Mootha Lab uses human genetics and genomics to understand the molecular basis of Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy and develop novel therapeutic strategies.

Mootha Lab

Liraz Galia, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Our lab is studying novel regulatory mechanisms that control innate immunity in intestinal health and disease.

Galia Lab

Kenneth Chen, M.D.

Assistant Professor

Chen lab studies how dysregulation of RNA synthesis and degradation drives childhood cancerswith the ultimate goal of identifying new therapeutic vulnerabilities to exploit in treating them.

Chen Lab

Xin Li, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Weare working at the interface of nanotechnology, drug delivery, and tumor immunology.

Li Lab

David Corey, Ph.D.

Professor

Corey Lab is using nucleic acids or nucleic acid mimics to explore important cellular processes, develop novel therapeutic tools and strategies.

Corey Lab

Joyce Repa, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

We are interested in the molecular mechanisms by which nuclear hormone receptors regulate lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in the liver, intestine, pancreatic islet, and central nervous system.

Repa Lab

Yi Liu, Ph.D.

Professor

The Liu Lab is interested in the functions and mechanism of codon usage biases, circadian clocks, and non-coding RNA.

Liu Lab

Xin Cai, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

How do cells sense metabolites to drive their growth and proliferation? We seek to studymetabolitesnot only as nutrients butascellular instruction signals that dictate cell biology.

Cai Lab

Benjamin Sabari, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

We study how biomolecular condensates organize gene regulation.

Sabari Lab

Haiqi Chen, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Welcome to the Reproductive Genomics Laboratory (RGL) at UT Southwestern Medical Center where we innovate at the intersection of genomics, bioengineering, and data science to answer fundamental questions in reproductive biology.

Chen Lab

Jer-Tsong Hsieh, Ph.D.

Professor

Jer-Tsong Hsieh Lab research interests focus on key molecular mechanisms leading to urologic cancer progression, development of precision medicine of cancer therapy assisted with non-invasive molecular imaging.

Hsieh Lab