University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center · BiochemistryWu Lab
Jun Wu · Dallas, Texas
Research Focus
Jun Wu's research lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center focuses on innovative techniques to study brain development and evolution using interspecies models. The team employs a groundbreaking method called blastocyst complementation to introduce rat brain tissue into mice, allowing for the investigation of how different species' brains develop and function together. This research has significant implications for understanding neurological processes and potentially ethical considerations concerning human brain studies.
blastocyst complementationneurosciencebrain developmentinterspecies chimeraspluripotent stem cellsgenetic engineeringevolutionary biologyrodent modelsmulti-omics analysescell competition
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate xenogeneic barriers affecting rat cell contribution in chimeric mouse forebrains.
AIM 02Examine non-cell autonomous mechanisms in rat-mouse forebrain chimeras.
AIM 03Study brain size and developmental pace adaptation in chimeric organisms.
AIM 04Expand research to include wild rodent species like the African pygmy mouse.
AIM 05Understand the molecular basis of brain development through multi-omics analyses.
Skills the Lab Values
CRISPRcell cultureanimal modelstissue engineeringgenomic analysismolecular biology techniqueshistologyimmunohistochemistrydata analysis in bioinformaticsmesenchymal stem cell techniques
Output against the department
Publications450top 11% of dept.43rd of 402
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations9.3kbottom 48% of dept.208th 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.