Jun Wu

Dr. Jun Wu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He holds a PhD in Life Science from the University of Tennessee and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Southern California and the Salk Institute. His research focuses on stem cell biology, genome editing, and interspecies chimeras to advance regenerative medicine and developmental biology.

Education:

• Bachelor of Medicine, Shandong University School of Medicine (China)
• PhD in Life Science, University of Tennessee (2013)
• Postdoctoral Fellowships: USC (2013-2015) and Salk Institute (2015-2017)

Research Interests:

• Generation of pluripotent stem cells with distinct molecular/phenotypic features
• Development of interspecies blastocyst complementation systems
• Modeling peri-implantation human development using stem cell embryo models
• Study of species-specific developmental barriers and evolutionary biology
• Application of chimeras to study cancer resistance and organ size determination

Lab Activities: The Wu Lab develops stem cell models to study mammalian development and create regenerative therapies. Key projects include:

• Creation of interspecies chimeras (human-monkey, rat-mouse)
• Development of blastoids and peri-gastruloids
• Analysis of species-specific cell competition mechanisms
• Engineering cross-species organogenesis systems

Grant Activities: Focuses on NIH-funded projects related to stem cell biology, interspecies chimerism, and regenerative medicine applications. Collaborates with institutions like Salk Institute and University of California campuses.

Lab Team: Includes postdoctoral researchers like Dr. Yi Ding and a multidisciplinary team of molecular biologists, bioengineers, and computational biologists.