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Dr. Mu received his M.D. from Shanxi Medical University, China, and his Ph.D. from Saitama Medical School, Japan. He then joined NIAID Division of Intramural Research in 2000 and served as visiting fellow, research fellow, and staff scientist. Now, Dr. Mu is an associate scientist in the office of the Chief of Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research (LMVR), NIAID. His 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. 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 journals including Current Genomics, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, and Journal of Tropical Medicine. Dr. Mu received numerous awards, including NIAID Merit Award and Performance Award.
Liu M*, Guo G*, Qian P*, Mu J*, Lu B, He X, Fan Y, Shang X, Yang G, Shen S, Liu W, Wang L, Gu L, Mu Q, Yu X, Zhao Y, Culleton R, Cao J, Jiang L, Wellems TE, Yuan J, Jiang C, Zhang Q (2022) 5-methylcytosine modification by Plasmodium NSUN2 stabilizes mRNA and mediates the development of gametocytes.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Mar 1;119(9):e2110713119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2110713119.
Mu J, Yu LL, Wellems TE (2020) Sensitive Immunoassay Detection of Plasmodium Lactate Dehydrogenase by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. Jan 11;10:620419. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.620419.
Xiao B, Yin S, Hu Y, Sun M, Wei J, Huang Z, Wen Y, Dai X, Chen H, Mu J, Cui L, Jiang L (2019) Epigenetic editing by CRISPR/dCas9 in Plasmodium falciparum. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Jan 2;116(1):255-260. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1813542116.
Mu J, Andersen JF, Valenzuela JG, Wellems TE (2017) High-Sensitivity Assays for Plasmodium falciparum Infection by Immuno-Polymerase Chain Reaction Detection of PfIDEh and PfLDH Antigens.J Infect Dis. Sep 15;216(6):713-722. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jix369.
Jiang L*, Mu J*, Zhang Q, Ni T, Srinivasan P, Rayavara K, Yang W, Turner L, Lavstsen T, Theander TG, Peng W, Wei G, Jing Q, Wakabayashi Y, Bansal A, Luo Y, Ribeiro JM, Scherf A, Aravind L, Zhu J, Zhao K, Miller LH (2013) PfSETvs methylation of histone H3K36 represses virulence genes in Plasmodium falciparum. .Nature. Jul 11;499(7457):223-7. doi: 10.1038/nature12361.
Mu J, Myers RA, Jiang H, Liu S, Ricklefs S, Waisberg M, Chotivanich K, Wilairatana P, Krudsood S, White NJ, Udomsangpetch R, Cui L, Ho M, Ou F, Li H, Song J, Li G, Wang X, Seila S, Sokunthea S, Socheat D, Sturdevant DE, Porcella SF, Fairhurst RM, Wellems TE, Awadalla P, Su XZ (2010) Plasmodium falciparum genome-wide scans for positive selection, recombination hot spots and resistance to antimalarial drugs. Nat Genet. Mar;42(3):268-71. doi: 10.1038/ng.528.
Sanger sequencing (ABI3730xl) and illumina NextSeq 550 System are available for genotyping, DNA sequencing, whole-genome sequencing and RNA-seq etc.
Lee SK, Crosnier C, Valenzuela-Leon PC, Dizon BLP, Atkinson JP, Mu J, Wright GJ, Calvo E, Gunalan K, Miller LH. Complement receptor 1 is the human erythrocyte receptor for Plasmodium vivax erythrocyte binding protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Jan 30;121(5):e2316304121.
Liu M, Guo G, Qian P, Mu J, Lu B, He X, Fan Y, Shang X, Yang G, Shen S, Liu W, Wang L, Gu L, Mu Q, Yu X, Zhao Y, Culleton R, Cao J, Jiang L, Wellems TE, Yuan J, Jiang C, Zhang Q (2022) 5-methylcytosine modification by Plasmodium NSUN2 stabilizes mRNA and mediates the development of gametocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Mar 1;119(9):e2110713119.
Xiao B, Yin S, Hu Y, Sun M, Wei J, Huang Z, Wen Y, Dai X, Chen H, Mu J, Cui L, Jiang L (2019) Epigenetic editing by CRISPR/dCas9 in Plasmodium falciparum. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Jan 2;116(1):255-260.
Mu J, Andersen JF, Valenzuela JG, Wellems TE (2017) High-Sensitivity Assays for Plasmodium falciparum Infection by Immuno-Polymerase Chain Reaction Detection of PfIDEh and PfLDH Antigens. J Infect Dis. Sep 15;216(6):713-722.
Jiang L, Mu J, Zhang Q, Ni T, Srinivasan P, Rayavara K, Yang W, Turner L, Lavstsen T, Theander TG, Peng W, Wei G, Jing Q, Wakabayashi Y, Bansal A, Luo Y, Ribeiro JM, Scherf A, Aravind L, Zhu J, Zhao K, Miller LH (2013) PfSETvs methylation of histone H3K36 represses virulence genes in Plasmodium falciparum. Nature. Jul 11;499(7457):223-7.
Mu J, Myers RA, Jiang H, Liu S, Ricklefs S, Waisberg M, Chotivanich K, Wilairatana P, Krudsood S, White NJ, Udomsangpetch R, Cui L, Ho M, Ou F, Li H, Song J, Li G, Wang X, Seila S, Sokunthea S, Socheat D, Sturdevant DE, Porcella SF, Fairhurst RM, Wellems TE, Awadalla P, Su XZ. Plasmodium falciparum genome-wide scans for positive selection, recombination hot spots and resistance to antimalarial drugs. Nat Genet. 2010 Mar;42(3):268-71.
Dr. Mu oversees the Genomics Core, which is equipped with advanced technologies to facilitate a broad spectrum of genomic and multi-omic studies. These include Sanger sequencing using the ABI3730xl, which provides high-throughput and high-accuracy DNA sequencing for genotyping and targeted DNA analysis. The Illumina NextSeq 550 System enables high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS), supporting applications such as whole-genome sequencing, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), and epigenomics. Additionally, the CosMx Spatial Molecular Imager (SMI) facilitates cutting-edge spatial multiomics analysis, allowing for high-resolution spatial profiling of RNA and protein expression in complex tissues. Together, these platforms provide comprehensive tools for exploring genetic, transcriptomic, and spatial molecular data to address a variety of research questions.
Education:
M.D., M.P.H., 2000, The Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Education:
Dr. Ruhl attended the University of Virginia School of Medicine and completed internal medicine training in the Osler Medical Residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She completed a combined fellowship in critical care medicine at the NIH Clinical Center and pulmonary medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and received a master’s of health sciences from the Duke University School of Medicine.
Dr. Ruhl is active in the professional community. She serves as vice chair of the NIH Staff Clinician Council and is a member of the Staff Clinician Professional Development Working Group, which serve to support physician professional development within the NIH Intramural Research Program. She serves as the executive board member of the Metropolitan DC Thoracic Society and as co-chair of the American Thoracic Society Sickle Cell Lung Disease Interest Group.
Education:
Ph.D., University of Oxford, England
Specialty(s): Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine Provides direct clinical care to patients at NIH Clinical Center
Education:
M.D., Emory University School of Medicine
M.Sc., Harvard School of Public Health
Provides direct clinical care to patients at NIH Clinical Center
Education:
A.B., Brown University, Providence, RI
M.D., University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH
Specialty(s): Critical Care Medicine, Internal Medicine
Education:
B.S., College of William and Mary; M.Sc. in Biological Anthropology and D.Phil. in Human Genetics, University of Oxford; M.D., Harvard Medical School
