The ability of an organism to adapt to a dynamic and challenging environment is pivotal for its survival. Inadequate sensing and responses to various stresses can lead to numerous diseases. My research primarily focuses on deciphering the mechanisms underlying cellular stress responses and homeostatic regulation. Over the past ten years, we have delved into the molecular mechanisms orchestrating cellular and organismal reactions to nutrient scarcity or mitochondrial stress. 

Currently, we are shifting our research focus to conduct mechanistic investigations into cellular stress responses associated with aging. Aging is a time-related deterioration in an organism that leads to a decline of biological functions and of the organism’s ability to adapt to environmental stresses, ultimately resulting in senescence or mortality. How and why aging occurs is a fundamental question in biology. Extensive studies in model organisms have demonstrated that the aging process both influences and is influenced by cellular stress responses. However, despite intensive scientific efforts to describe the relationship between cellular stress responses and aging, little has been done to explore the molecular mechanisms that govern age-related decline of stress responses, and to examine the possibility of tuning the threshold/activity of stress responses to control cell death and aging. To fill this gap, we are aiming to delineate the underlying molecular pathways and to discover novel therapeutic targets that can modulate the aging process through the manipulation of cellular stress responses.