University of California-Berkeley · BiochemistryThe RetroGenesis Lab
Lin He · Berkeley, California
Research Focus
Dr. Lin He's lab at UC Berkeley studies the role of retrotransposons—genetic elements that can move around within the genome—in mammalian development and reproductive aging. Their research aims to uncover how these elements influence gene regulation during early embryo development and the aging process of female reproductive cells. By using advanced techniques like CRISPR and genomics, the lab investigates the functional significance of retrotransposon-derived promoters and how they can lead to alternative gene forms that impact cell functions.
retrotransposonsgene regulationCRISPRdevelopmental biologypreimplantationfemale reproductive aginggenomicsgene isoformsmolecular biology
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the role of retrotransposon-derived promoters in gene regulation during preimplantation development.
AIM 02Characterize the effects of retrotransposon expression on female reproductive aging.
AIM 03Explore the evolutionary significance of retrotransposon-mediated gene isoforms.
AIM 04Examine the functional importance of specific retrotransposon elements in embryonic development.
AIM 05Profile retrotransposon expression patterns in young and aged oocytes.
Skills the Lab Values
CRISPRnext generation sequencingbioinformaticsmouse geneticscell culturemolecular cloningRNA sequencinggenomic analysisdata analysis
Output against the department
Publications709top 4% of dept.18th of 402
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations32ktop 10% of dept.41st of 402
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.