Associate Scientist(Core), Malaria Genetics Section
Education:
Ph.D., 2000, Saitama Medical School, Japan
M.D., 1992, Shanxi Medical University, China
Languages Spoken: Mandarin and Amoyese Chinese
Biography
After earning his M.D. and Ph.D., Dr. Mu joined the NIAID Division of Intramural Research in 2000, where he served as a visiting fellow, research fellow, and staff scientist. Currently, Dr. Mu is an associate scientist in the NIAID office of the chief of the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research.
Dr. Mu’s research mainly focuses on the functional genomics of Plasmodium parasites, including the mechanisms of malaria gene regulation, drug responses, immune evasion, and pathogenesis by applying various approaches, such as genetic mapping and genome-wide association (GWA), genetic manipulation, epigenetic and epitranscriptomic modification. Key findings from his research include the genome-wide association study to map the loci associated with P. falciparum resistance to antimalarial drugs, epigenetic regulation of antigenic variation in P. falciparum parasites, epitranscriptomic modification in P. falciparum gene regulations and the development of the high-sensitivity assay for Plasmodium infection. Dr. Mu serves as the editorial board member for the following journals: Current Genomics, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, and the Journal of Tropical Medicine. Dr. Mu has received numerous awards, including the NIAID Merit Award and Performance Award.