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BioHan had been a postdoc with Dr. Steinmetz at the genetics department for five years, working on both cancers and heart diseases, trying to understand the mechanisms linking from variants to disease phenotypes. This led to a few very interesting findings of aberrant splicing regulation, such as splicing-mediated readthrough stabilization (SRS), one more mechanism for oncogene activation in multiple types of cancers, and tissue-specific splicing of a mitochondrial inner membrane protein, suggesting a molecular connection between deficiency in energy-supplying and dilated cardiomyopathy.

After being a senior computational biologist with Dr. Gloyn, who has been dedicated to the research of type 2 diabetes for decades, Han switched to the field of this multifactorial metabolic disease. It did take some courage to make such a switch at his post-postdoc stage, however, Han has a consistent interest in studying PG&E, which is not pacific gas and electric nearby, but the interaction between phenotype, genotype, and environment. With years of hands-on experience in statistical modeling and the analysis of next-generation sequencing and mass spectrometry data, in addition to a good understanding of disease genetics, cancer biology, and systems biology, Han is highly confident that he will enjoy the adventure and contribute to our understanding of diabetes.