Dr. Ji focuses on understanding how intercellular communication contributes to cell subpopulation heterogeneity in diverse tissue states, including normal homeostasis and cancer. His work was among the first to integrate an array of multimodal techniques, including single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), spatial transcriptomics (ST), and multiplexed ion beam imaging (MIBI) on a common cohort of patient tissue. His lab further employs CRISPR genetics, including high-throughput screens, on organoid and xenograft mouse models to assign functional significance to novel subpopulation markers. Through use of these cutting-edge tools, his goals are to identify highly pathogenic subpopulations within complex tissues, how they arise, and exploit knowledge of cell-intrinsic and extrinsic crosstalk pathways to develop novel treatment strategies across cancer and other skin diseases.

Ongoing research interests include: 

- Dissecting gene regulatory networks governing invasive tumor subpopulation behavior to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities

- Understanding cancer cell subpopulation signaling involved in tumor microenvironment remodeling 

- Defining pathways governing fibroblast plasticity in tissue regeneration and cancer 

Visit the Ji Lab: https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/jilab/