
Chongyi Chen, Ph.D.
- Center for Cancer Research
- National Cancer Institute
- Building 37, Room 6044
- Bethesda, MD 20892-4260
- 240-760-7493
- chongyi.chen@nih.gov
RESEARCH SUMMARY
The Chen lab study DNA topology in the context of chromatin organization and gene expression in human cells, utilizing our strength of developing novel genomic technologies and single-cell assays. We seek to understand how the topological tension of the double helix interact with other chromatin features, contribute to the chromatin environment for gene regulation, as well as the involvement, regulation, and function of DNA supercoiling dynamics and topoisomerase activities upon various biological processes. The long-term goal is to apply the new knowledge in chromatin biology and the new methodologies in single-cell omics to cancer biology and medicine.
Areas of Expertise

Chongyi Chen, Ph.D.
Research
Our research is focused on the interface between DNA topology, chromatin organization and gene regulation in human cells. Our approaches include traditional assays, as well as genomic technologies and single-cell assays newly invented in the lab. Previously we have shown that the dynamics of chromosomal DNA supercoiling tension and its balanced regulation by two types of topoisomerases is the primary mechanism underlying the phenomenon of transcriptional bursting in bacteria (Cell, 2014). We aim to probe DNA supercoiling dynamics in human cells during a variety of key biological processes. A particular goal is to understand the role and regulation of DNA topology in the context of chromatin architecture, transcriptional activity, and other epigenetic features.
Previously we have developed a single-cell whole-genome amplification method, Linear Amplification via Transposon Insertion (LIANTI), that enables the accurate detection of single-cell genomic variants, including copy-number variations (CNVs), single-nucleotide variations (SNVs), and structural variations (SVs) (Science, 2017). We aim to further develop single-cell sequencing assays that can help us better understand chromatin biology in a dynamic manner within heterogenous cell populations. We will also bring these new single-cell techniques to both fundamental questions in biology and clinical settings in medicine via collaborative efforts.
Publications
LAST-seq: single-cell RNA sequencing by direct amplification of single-stranded RNA without prior reverse transcription and second-strand synthesis
Neuronal enhancers are hotspots for DNA single-strand break repair
Single cell genomics to study DNA and chromosome changes in human gametes and embryos
Single-cell Whole-genome Analyses by Linear Amplification via Transposon Insertion (LIANTI)
Mechanism of Transcriptional Bursting in Bacteria
Biography

Chongyi Chen, Ph.D.
Dr. Chen obtained his B.S. in biology from Peking University, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Harvard University in 2014. Working in the lab of X. Sunney Xie, in collaboration with the lab of Xiaowei Zhuang, he applied advanced imaging tools and chromosome conformation capture assay to study bacterial chromosome organization, DNA supercoiling, and gene expression noise at the single-molecule level. As a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, he developed a new single-cell whole-genome amplification method, Linear Amplification via Transposon Insertion (LIANTI). The LIANTI assay allows accurate detection of genomic variants in individual cells, enabling many single-cell genomics studies in biology and medicine. He joined the Center for Cancer Research as an NIH Stadtman Investigator in October 2018.
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