AUG 2025
A second NIH/NCI R01
The NCI awarded the lab a five-year R01 (R01CA303874) to dissect the functional role of PAX5 mutations in B-ALL.
The Gu Lab fuses cutting-edge experimental models with computational methods to understand, classify, and target hematologic malignancies.
We are devoted to developing cutting-edge experimental models and computational methods that advance the understanding of hematologic malignancies.
Our research centers on leukemia diagnosis and classification, the identification of driver genetic lesions, functional assays of leukemogenesis, and the development of targeted therapies — bridging the dry lab and the wet lab to turn genomic insight into clinical impact.
See how we work →B-ALL is the most common pediatric cancer, comprising dozens of molecular subtypes — each defined by unique genetic alterations and expression programs. Precise classification is the foundation of accurate prognosis and effective treatment.
From computational platforms to mechanism and therapy.
An integrative platform that classifies all known B-ALL subtypes from bulk RNA-seq, plus sensitive callers customized for B-ALL fusions and structural variants.
How B-ALL subtypes map onto stages of B-cell development and the 3D organization of the IgH/IgL loci, through PAX5, cohesin, CTCF, RAG1/2 and more.
Knock-in mouse models and single-cell multi-omics reveal the stepwise mutagenesis that turns PAX5 lesions into overt leukemia with distinct clinical outcomes.
A978 is the top RNA marker of Ph/Ph-like B-ALL. We dissect its biology and test a CpG-conjugated siRNA therapy in PDX models.
lncRNA, circRNA, alternative splicing and polyadenylation as subtype markers — and as windows into disease progression, drug response and new targets.
Read the full research overview, funding, and figures.
Open research →The NCI awarded the lab a five-year R01 (R01CA303874) to dissect the functional role of PAX5 mutations in B-ALL.
A five-year MERIT award (R37CA300358) supports our work on a novel signature gene in BCR::ABL1 (Ph⁺) B-ALL.
Our integrative platform for molecular diagnosis of B-ALL, validated across 974 samples, outperforms existing tools.