Dr. Lu is currently a Research Scientist in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. Dr. Lu’s research focuses on determining the role of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors in the susceptibility and clinical outcome of chronic diseases, particularly human cancer (gynecologic and gastrointestinal cancer), metabolic syndrome, HIV/ADIS, mental and reproductive health. He is now leading the Molecular Cancer Epidemiology Laboratory and Shared Resource of the Yale Cancer Center and YSPH, and develops molecular biology tools and technologies, providing critical laboratory supports for studies by colleagues. His research also involves data mining, bioinformatics and pathway analyses, DNA/RNA secondary structure. Using next-generation small RNA-seq technologies, he recently explored the associations of miRNAs in circulating cell-secreted exosomes and HIV-associated neurological disorders. His research has addressed the prognostic and predictive values of genetic, epigenetic (non-coding RNAs and DNA methylation), growth factors and immunological factors in several human malignancies, and the effect of the biological and environmental factors on the risk of several chronic diseases.
