I am a Biological Chemistry graduate student working in the Dedon Lab in the department of Biological Engineering at MIT. Thanks for visiting my webpage!
Education & work experience
2014 - to date, PhD in Biological Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
2011 - 2014, Research associate, Process Technical Development, Genentech, South San Francisco, USA
2009 - 2011, PDRP associate, Process Development Rotational Program, Genentech, South San Francisco, USA
2005 - 2009, BS in Chemical Biology, University of California at Berkeley, USA
Awards & Honors
MIT Department of Chemistry Award for Outstanding Teaching (2014-2015)
Departmental recognition and monetary award given based on teaching evaluations from students
Poster Award, California Separation Science Society (CASSS) Mass Spectrometry Conference (2013)
Poster Title: “Relative Quantitation of Isomerization & Oxidation in a MAb Using a UHPLC-MS-based Assay”
Genentech Protein Analytical Chemistry Departmental Award (2013)
Awarded by senior departmental leadership
Genentech Recognition Award for Contribution to Project/Process (2012)
Genentech Recognition Award for Outstanding Teamwork (2012)
Genentech Process R&D Outstanding Student Award & Scholarship (2008)
Monetary award and summer internship opportunity
Honors, College of Chemistry, UC Berkeley (2006-2009)
Research summary
My thesis research seeks to define molecular mechanisms that contribute to phenotypic drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis disease (TB). Mtb is responsible for ~2 million deaths each year and latently infects nearly a third of the world’s population. An unusual feature of TB disease is that the infecting bacteria enter a dormant, non-replicative state that can last for years and causes the bacteria to become highly resistant to antibiotics. This drug resistance is termed phenotypic resistance since it involves a normal physiological adaptation and is not due to the acquisition of genomic mutations or resistance plasmids.
The aims of my thesis research are two-fold. First, I propose to test a novel hypothesis that dormancy-induced up-regulation of drug metabolizing enzymes contributes to the antibiotic resistance. Second, I plan to examine whether translational control plays a role in dormancy-induced metabolic remodeling. Moreover, I’d like to exploit this system by developing therapeutics that hinder the bacteria’s physiological adaptation to environmental stress and, ultimately, prevent the emergence of phenotypic antibiotic resistance.
Peer-reviewed Papers
- C. Lin, P. Smibert, X. Zhao, J.F. Hu, J. Ramroop, S.M. Kellner, M.A. Benton, S. Govind, P.C. Dedon, R. Sternglanz, E.C. Lai. “An extensive allelic series of Drosophila kae1 mutants reveals diverse and tissue-specific requirements for t6A biogenesis”, RNA, Oct 2015. (Link)
- Y.T. Zhang, J. Hu, A.L. Pace, R. Wong, Y.J. Wang, Y.H. Kao. "Characterization of asparagine 330 deamidation in an Fc-fragment of IgG1 using cation exchange chromatography and peptide mapping", J. Chromatogr. B, vol. 965, 15 Aug 2014, pgs. 65-71. (Link)
Poster Presentations
- "Approaches to high-throughput monitoring of antibody oxidation for process characterization studies: regional, peptide and site-specific" J. Hu, L.C. Vampola, A. Hilderbrand, J.W. Eschelbach. Presented at High-Throughput Process Development conference, 2014.
- “Relative Quantitation of Isomerization & Oxidation in a MAb Using a UHPLC-MS-based Assay”, J. Hu, L. Danan-Leon and J. Wang. Presented at CASSS Mass Spectrometry Conference, 2013 (Poster Award).
- “Revealing Structural Changes of Stressed IgG1 Antibody by a Fully-automated Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry (H/DX-MS) Workflow”, J. Zhang, J. Jeong, J. Hu and V. Katta. Presented at American Society of Mass Spectrometry Conference, 2012.
- “Characterization of Asparagine 330 Deamidation in VSNK Motif: A Major IgG1 Fc Degradation in Mildly Acidic Buffers Under Thermal Stressed Condition”, Y.T. Zhang, J. Hu, A.L. Pace, Y.H. Kao, R. Wong, Y.J. Wang. Presented at American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, 2012.
- “Developing an Automated High-Throughput System for Cell Culture Process Development”, L. Cheung, J. Hu, S. Luo, C. Bevilacqua, M. Gawlitzek. Presented at BioProcess International, 2008.
- “Developing and Optimizing High-Throughput-Compatible Colorimetric Assays to Quantify Metabolite Levels in Cell Culture”, J. Hu, L. Cheung. Presented at UC Berkeley Science & Engineering Poster Session, 2008.
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