Jianjun Sun, Ph.D.
Mentor
Department of Physiology & Neurobiology
Research in the Sun lab focuses on the female reproductive physiology. Particularly, our lab is interested in understanding the mechanisms regulating ovulation and reproductive tract secretions, mostly because when these processes dysfunction it can result in a range of problems from female infertility to ovarian cancer. In addition, understanding the mechanism of ovulation will allow us to develop novel non-hormonal contraceptives that have less side effects for better family planning. To tangle these issues, we utilize the simple and genetically tractable model organism Drosophila (fruit flies) as well as classic mouse models. Our approaches include genetic and pharmacological screenings, molecular and genomic analysis, fluorescent imaging and other cellular assays. Our recent work has discovered that Drosophila utilizes a highly conserved mechanism for ovulation as in mammals and that we established a Drosophila platform for screening non-hormonal contraceptives.
The following are two potential projects that RaMP scholar can work on:
- Characterize the role of candidate genes in female reproductive tract secretory cells for sperm storage and fertilization. We have screened more than 200 genes that are expressed in secretory cells in Drosophila female reproductive tract. Many of those genes are showing potential role in regulating sperm function. The scholar can choose one or two genes to characterize their function and the molecular mechanism.
- Investigate the mechanism of follicle maturation and ovulation. We have characterized the role of steroid hormone, adrenergic signaling, reactive oxygen species (ROS), matrix metalloproteinase, transcription factors Sim in Drosophila ovulation. However, many questions still remain. For example, what are the downstream targets of steroid signaling and what are the targets of ROS? The scholar can potentially perform RNAseq and CUT&RUN assays and bioinformatic analysis to identify the direct targets of steroid receptor EcR and Sim etc.
