To better understand how cells precisely control the levels of their proteins, Associate Professor Gene-Wei Li utilizes rigorous quantitative analysis to improve our molecular understandings of life. With the support he’ll receive as an HHMI Investigator, Li will explore how genomes are sculpted to allow lifeforms to survive in a competitive environment.
As versatile and durable as cells are, their every function depends on producing precise quantities of proteins. These proteins enable the cells to perform their functions, their organelles to work, and tell the cells when to grow or decompose. Without precise instructions for how much protein they need to generate, organisms would struggle to self-regulate efficiently, rendering them incapable of becoming competitive life forms. These “recipes” for protein production are written into the genetic code of all life. Recent advances in DNA sequencing have identified every protein an organism can produce–every “ingredient” in the genetic cookbook. Despite these significant advances, researchers still don’t know how to read the instructions.
Since opening his lab at MIT in 2015, Associate Professor of Biology Gene-Wei Li has been working, among other things, on quantifying the amount of proteins cells produce and how that process is orchestrated within the cell.
