Interests

In my PhD study, by using Drosophila as a model organism, I discovered the link between ER-mitochondrial calcium communication and lipogenesis, which provided new insights into the pathogenesis of human Congenital Generalized Lipodystrophy Type 2.

In the Desplan Lab, I study the ant Harpegnathos saltator, a fascinating species in which adult workers retain great phenotypic plasticity. Normally, workers remain non-reproductive with short lifespans under queen pheromone control. When the queen is removed, however, some workers engage in antennal dueling and winners transition into reproductive pseudo-queens (gamergates) that lay eggs, suppress reproduction in others, reduce fat storage, and dramatically extend their lifespan. I am interested in how environmental cues reshape physiology at the individual level. By analyzing the hemolymph of transitioning ants, I have identified a circulating factor that regulates caste transition by modulating juvenile hormone, a primary insect hormone.

More broadly, I am fascinated by how eusociality evolved as a major innovation in the animal kingdom. A key evolutionary shift in ants and other social insects is the decoupling of JH from gonadotropic functions, which inverts the reproductive-longevity trade-off observed in solitary systems. Motivated by this phenomenon, I am pursuing comparative genomic and evolutionary analyses to trace the rewiring of JH regulation and its role in the emergence of eusociality.