The Hu Lab focuses on the principles of quality control and cell homeostasis in early life, with a specific aim to decipher the competitive dynamics between normal and abnormal cells during early embryonic and tissue development. Utilizing human pluripotent stem cells, zebrafish, and mice as core models, and integrating super-resolution imaging with single-cell multi-omics technologies, the lab is dedicated to exploring the fundamental mechanisms by which abnormal cells are recognized and precisely eliminated by the innate immune network. Looking forward, addressing major reproductive challenges such as embryo implantation failure caused by aneuploidy in clinical in vitro fertilization (IVF), the lab will construct a multi-dimensional research framework spanning molecular communication, physical mechanics, and physiological tolerance. The ultimate goal is to provide new theoretical explanations and potential intervention targets for clinical reproductive health.

Dr. Yingying Hu has long been dedicated to interdisciplinary research in developmental biology and pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). She played a leading role in establishing a cross-species stem cell competition model to systematically explore the molecular basis of the interspecies barrier. Her pioneering work uncovered the core surveillance function of innate immune pathways, such as RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs), in mediating interspecies cell competition. This work provides novel theoretical foundation and intervention strategies for improving interspecies chimerism and humanized organ generation. Furthermore, Dr. Hu utilized zebrafish as a model to dissect the cell fate determination mechanisms in early organ development, establishing a mature technical platform for in vivo lineage tracing and high-resolution imaging. Dr. Hu’s representative works have been published in top-tier academic journals such as Cell and Nature as first author and co-first author, and she holds one granted U.S. invention patent.

1. Hu Y^# , Sun HX^# , Sakurai M^# , Luo Z, Jones AE, Cheng T, Huang J, Liu L, Zheng C, Li J, Lu Y, Ravaux B, He B, Ding Y, Liu T, Wu Y, Chen ZJ, Abrams JM, Chen EH, Gu Y, Wu J. RNA Sensing and Innate Immunity Constitutes a Barrier for Interspecies Chimerism. Cell. 2026 January; 189, 23-33.e16. 

2. Zheng C^# , Hu Y^# , Sakurai M^# , Pinzon-Arteaga CA, Li J, Wei Y, Okamura D, Ravaux B, Barlow HR, Yu L, Sun HX, Chen EH, Gu Y, Wu J. Cell competition constitutes a barrier for interspecies chimerism. Nature. 2021 Apr;592(7853):272-276. 

3. Hu Y^# , Luo Z^# , Wang M^# , Wu Z, Liu Y, Cheng Z, Sun Y, Xiong JW, Tong X, Zhu Z, Zhang B. Prox1a promotes liver growth and differentiation by repressing cdx1b expression and intestinal fate transition in zebrafish. Journal of Genetics and Genomics. 2025 January; 52, 66-77. 

4. He B^# , Lv S^# , Li L, Zhang L, Hu Y, Okamura D, Huang J, and Wu J. Mitigating xenogeneic barriers to chimerism through Cas13-induced host attenuation. Developmental Cell. 2026 March; 61, 676-686.e675. 

5. Liu T^# , Li J^# , Yu L^# , Sun HX, Li J, Dong G, Hu Y, Li Y, Shen Y, Wu J, Gu Y. Cross-species single-cell transcriptomic analysis reveals pre-gastrulation developmental differences among pigs, monkeys, and humans. Cell Discovery. 2021 Feb 2;7(1):8. 

6. Xiao A^# , Wang Z^# , Hu Y, Wu Y, Luo Z, Yang Z, Zu Y, Li W, Huang P, Tong X, Zhu Z, Lin S, Zhang B. Chromosomal deletions and inversions mediated by TALENs and CRISPR/Cas in zebrafish. Nucleic Acids Research. 2013 Aug;41(14):e141. 

7. Xiao A, Wu Y, Yang Z, Hu Y, Wang W, Zhang Y, Kong L, Gao G, Zhu Z, Lin S, Zhang B. EENdb: a database and knowledge base of ZFNs and TALENs for endonuclease engineering. Nucleic Acids Research. 2013 Jan;41(Database issue):D415-22.