Dr. Chai leads a nine-member team that takes a multidisciplinary approach, integrating next-generation sequencing, molecular biology techniques and cellular imaging methods.

Genetic diseases, caused by alterations in DNA sequences that can be acquired during the lifespan, affect one in 10 people in the United States. Cancer, which will kill more than 611,000 people in 2024, is triggered by changes to a cell’s DNA. These mutations may be inherited, or instigated by viruses, environmental toxins, metabolic products from our cells or copying errors in dividing cells.