RESEARCH INTEREST
The focus of my research has been to produce a variety of cloned domestic and companion animal species such as cattle, pig, sheep, goat, dog, cat and horse. Based on a similar technique used to clone several mammalian species with different types of somatic cells, live clones of a Brucellosis resistant Angus bull, a prize winning Boer goat, and several piglets have been successfully produced. Additionally, ongoing research persists in attempts to find an efficient mechanism to increase the total success rate of in vitro culture systems through modified micromanipulation techniques. The optimization of culture systems is a significant area that can alter gene expression in reconstructed embryos depending on culture conditions. The experience gained in the cloning attempts of several species throughout the course of this work proposes a challenge to those not yet encountered such as transgenic animal models for human diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer’s disease.
I returned to the US in 2014 at which point I was re-engaged in the project of generating transgenic mice and rats at the University of Wisconsin Biotechnology Center using Crispr/Cas-9 genome engineering. However, I would like to explore new opportunities in pursuit of basic science/research & industrial development with animal models for biomedical/practical application using new genome editing technology. Regardless of my aforementioned extensive experiences and knowledge with my previous employment, I want to always be in a core-leading role as an action scientist for this fast-evolving scientific society to contribute to improving better genetics and human welfare.
A quote by Aristotle states “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” My primary research vision at Swine cloning and embryology core, University of Wisconsin-Madison would be bringing light in translational medicine for economical value of xenotransplantation and various human disease models via various assisted reproductive technologies (in vitro embryo production, somatic cell nuclear transfer, gene-editing, spermatogonial germ cells, testicular organoid and so forth).