Our research mainly focuses on the following two principal areas:

I. Protein evolution

A central question in evolutionary biology is how proteins evolve. The space of all possible protein sequences is astronomically large, and we still know very little about how proteins evolve through this space. Deciphering protein evolution can not only help us find explanations of the origin and evolution of life and biodiversity but also help us predict how climate change affects life on earth. Besides, studying protein evolution can provide basic principles for designing, modifying and evolving proteins with desired functions and properties.

Current interests in the lab include but are not limited to: (a) deciphering protein fitness landscapes and studying their effects on protein evolution; (b) how foldability and stability affect protein evolvability; (c) how physical environments affect protein evolution; (d) how genetic code reduction and expansion affect protein evolution; (d) how functional proteins evolve from random protein sequences; (e) whether and how proteins evolve to harness quantum mechanics to perform their functions.

II. Protein engineering

Understanding protein evolution enables us to develop new strategies to engineer robust proteins that can meet industry requirements and serve as building blocks for synthetic biology. Specifically, our main focus lies on the following research directions: (a) developing robust enzymes/biological parts; (b) developing proteins with new or enhanced properties through genetic code expansion and post-translational modification; (c) developing extremophilic enzymes to meet some special industry requirements; (d) developing enzymes for non-aqueous catalysis.