Jiali Han

Biography

I am interested in understanding the influence of genetic and environmental factors in the etiology and prevention of skin lesions, particularly skin cancer. Initially, I was engaged in studies of inherited susceptibility to skin cancers, focusing on DNA repair and related genes. I then moved from candidate genes to multiple candidate molecular pathways, including cell cycle, pigmentation, immunity, telomere, and microRNA biosynthesis. Beyond the candidate gene and pathway approach, I am also conducting a series of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify novel loci on pigmentation, nevogenesis, skin cancers, and several other related phenotypes and outcomes. Currently, I am conducting post-GWAS research projects examining the biological function of top significant variants identified from GWAS and integrating the gene expression profile for pathway enrichment evaluation. Meanwhile, I have expanded my research on the etiology of skin cancer to other skin lesions such as psoriasis. Besides genetic susceptibility, I have expanded my research to identify lifestyle and environmental risk factors for skin cancers and psoriasis.

Research Interest

I am interested in understanding the influence of genetic and environmental factors in the etiology and prevention of skin lesions, particularly skin cancer. Initially, I was engaged in studies of inherited susceptibility to skin cancers, focusing on DNA repair and related genes. I then moved from candidate genes to multiple candidate molecular pathways, including cell cycle, pigmentation, immunity, telomere, and microRNA biosynthesis. Beyond the candidate gene and pathway approach, I am also conducting a series of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify novel loci on pigmentation, nevogenesis, skin cancers, and several other related phenotypes and outcomes. Currently, I am conducting post-GWAS research projects examining the biological function of top significant variants identified from GWAS and integrating the gene expression profile for pathway enrichment evaluation. Meanwhile, I have expanded my research on the etiology of skin cancer to other skin lesions such as psoriasis. Besides genetic susceptibility, I have expanded my research to identify lifestyle and environmental risk factors for skin cancers and psoriasis.